Spannungsbogen
by Novemberries
Summary: A routine chuunin examination goes wrong and sets both Sasori's and Rei's to paths towards the dangerous unknown. Rei is pulled from her long-cherished dream and Sasori is heading towards the inevitable, but things are no longer black and white. And the balance of the shinobi world is at stake. [AU where Sasori didn't join the Akatsuki] [Sasori/OC]
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Spannungsbogen  
**Author**: Novemberries  
**Beta-ed**: NiwaHikari  
**Characters/Pairing**: Sasori and Akimori Rei (OC)  
**Genre**: Drama/Romance/Mystery  
**Word Count**: 6861  
**Raiting**: T (subject to change)  
**Disclaimer**: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. No money is being made from this story.  
**Completed on**: 29SEP2019  
**Published on**: 02OCT2019  
**Chapter Last Revised on**: 04OCT2019

A/N: This is my July Camp NaNo project. It is possible for me to publish it in this shape thanks to continuous support of two fellow writers: NiwaHikari, who's been tirelessly correcting my grammar and Saskiel, whose notes helped to shape this story as it is. My unending gratitude from the bottom of my heart, my ladies!

* * *

[ CHAPTER 1 ]** RAGAIRE **

Ragaireacht_ is an Irish word for late-night wandering, or for sitting up talking long into the early hours. And a _ragaire_ ("RA-gerra")__ is someone who enjoys precisely that._

* * *

A cloud of dust rose in the air as Sasori landed softly and soundlessly on the ground. He walked with confident strides through the dark streets of his village, his steady gait not betraying his turbulent thoughts.

No other sounds disturbed the heaviness of his mind. He walked alone and in silence. But were anyone to see him at that moment they would say that the storm in his eyes seemed to almost cast thunder. They wouldn't know though that the reason for this was perhaps the prevailing annoyance that this was the third time. They wouldn't know that yet again someone had come to contact him and somehow, this time, it seemed to have triggered in him such immense disgust with the entirety of this situation. They wouldn't know, but we must know that for the third time Sasori had declined and walked away – yet it seemed that this someone's dark glare was etched into his mind, as if a foreboding phantom of bad news.

Sasori inhaled deeply, throwing off the hood of his cloak to reveal his unruly mane of red hair. His nostrils widened as he inhaled deeply, and to his attuned senses, the air tasted like the night had just barely managed to blow away the midday heat. Perhaps just like Suna. Seemingly changing and advancing, yet in fact stale and atrophied.

He turned left and walked into the empty now marketplace, the space eerily quiet with echoes of his steps as the stands and carts waited for their owners to return with the morning. He sensed no soul around.

Last time that someone had shown their visage was more than two years ago. And Sasori had to admit to himself that the resolve was commendable – as commendable can be the determination of an annoying fly. The message was simple – the offer was standing. Yet Sasori had rejected it. Was it because he did not want to sell his freedom? Perhaps. But then, was he truly free in this Village of defunct shinobi systems, old geezers ruling in the council, too afraid to change, too terrified of the ghosts of the past? Glaringly, obviously not.

Suna wasn't the same village as during Sasori's childhood. A breeze of enlightenment somehow shone through the thatched attic, quoting a tabloid from the Water Country. Chuunin examinations. A new Kazekage. Alliances with other villages. Sunagakure was raving.

But tell me, how could this be enough. To anyone looking closely with an objective and sober gaze it was obvious that this village needed a major wake up call, or things would deteriorate faster than under an onslaught of an autumnal sandstorm. And those were treacherous. And perhaps, Sasori was gradually losing interest in the outcome. Even now, barely touching the surface of this issue with his thoughts, he felt a building nausea. Years passed, fruits of his work continued to pile up and fundamentally, nothing had changed. Nothing. The new Kazekage, young Gaara, was toiling under the efforts of pushing forward some, any change – heavens his witness – but there were those too old to reform their thinking, as unmovable as a stale stone figure, bitten by time. And to the Puppet Master there was nothing eternally beautiful about it. In the light of those imperfections – this disaster of a village – maybe, just maybe, cutting the ties and a fresh start seemed sweetly enticing.

Sasori looked up. It was a truth universally acknowledged that the stars shone the same way in every land.

The beginnings of a pounding migraine invaded his temples. Last weeks had been keeping him busy, as he was running across the land, and tonight, instead of a quiet evening he hoped for, he was ambushed by _someone_. He knew chuunin exams would prove a busy time for Suna, but it was already two weeks he was not able to tinker over his newest puppet design. Lest anything deprived him of his creative time any longer and there would be murder.

He needed a place to rest his spirit, his mind, a place to think and regroup his forces.

Just for one moment.

An Anbu guard nodded to the Puppet Master as he passed him by. Sasori didn't spare him a glance.

No. Tonight, the crawling irritation under his skin eclipsed everything. Like standing between a rock and a hard place, no move he made would be good. And there was only one place that could attempt to alleviate the burdens of his heart.

-[-]-

The candle's flame flickered, casting shaky shadows across the wall. Rei shifted her gaze from the report she was working on onto the bright yellow flame. Her mind blissfully drifting away, she just gazed at the dance of light and shadow.

With an aggravated sigh she put her pen down.

"That's it."

The report won't write itself, but she was so done for today. She had apparently squeezed all of her creative juices and needed to finish this somehow tomorrow, before the first stage of examinations ended, meaning a very quickly approaching noon. It was by all means a foolish, evasive tactic, but gods knew she needed to reset her mind. Right now.

Neatly arranging the scrolls, pens and an empty tea mug into one corner of the sturdy hotel desk, Rei stood up and stretched her cramped limbs. She then untied her dark red hair to let it fall loose and massaged her scalp. The pure exhaustion she felt wasn't the kind to knock her out and guarantee a regenerative sleep. Chuunin exams were a rewarding, but tiring ordeal. Add the boiling temperatures of Sunagakure and you had chuunin exams straight from the deepest reaches of hell. Not to mention all the preparation involved, paperology, reports, lists, all of this bound to induce a mind-boggling stupor. The Hokage knew, though, that Rei had a flair for organizing even the most chaotic chaos and that was one of the reasons she was the obvious choice for being appointed an examiner here. Well, not that she had any say in the matter.

_Two weeks ago_

"Hokage-sama, I already have an urgent mission lined up."

Rei listened with rising terror the tale Hokage was presenting her with. One of the examiners had been critically injured during his mission, resulting in him being incapacitated for the approaching examination.

"Rei. Out of all options available, you have the best record with Sunagakure. You are my choice."

_Hokage-sama, you must be dreaming._

"Hokage-sama, I'm sure Kakashi is more experienced than me to-"

"I'm sending you!" The blonde slammed her fist on the desk and looked at her like an angered bull ready to charge. Rei internally praised herself for not flinching. "And while we're at this…" Tsunade-sama leaned back into her chair and smirked. "Kakashi, you may join us."

Said shinobi jumped nimbly like a cat inside the office through the window and smiled, scratching his head.

"Actually, I'm sending both of you," the Hokage announced, her smirk deepening. Kakashi looked as if he knew from the very beginning this would end up like this. "Any objections?" The woman looked at them. Rei opened her mouth to voice her concerns at this idea, but Tsunade-sama didn't give her a chance. "Good. Kakashi, brief Rei with the changes to the examination regulations. Rei, the supplementary certification for an examiner will be held in two days. Well, what are you waiting for?" she barked at them when neither of them moved. "Get ready."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," they chorused and left the Hokage's office.

"Kakashi, this is not good."

They went for a walk after the Hokage's summon. A soft breeze ruffled their hair and Kakashi looked ahead of him into the dancing leaves of the fire trees. His hand twitched as if wanting to reach out to his back pocket on its own volition, but he suppressed the gesture.

"Kakashi!"

The silver-haired jounin sighed. "Rei, I know this complicates your situation, but look for a bright side."

"Desert heat and glaring sun, very bright." She was looking forward to the rainy season of Konoha, not a barren, sandy landscape and being sweaty all the time. Even if the examination lasted only for ten days, for Rei it seemed right now like an eternity and an extra strike to her gut from Lady Fate. To think she was trading her mission in the exquisitely beautiful mountains of Lightning Country to the toils and inconveniences of Sunagakure, and losing a good pay in the process… It felt like a cruel joke. She hid her face in the palm of her hand, exhaling heavily.

"Examiners don't get paid so well as your mission would have scored you, that is true." Kakashi seconded her thoughts. "But remember that each chuunin examination is a chance to forge international connections. . . and ogle young and agile examiners."

"Speak for yourself, you pervert." She spread her fingers, looking up at him, and then ran a hand through her loose hair. She ignored a shiver that ran down her spine. "Okay. I get it. Fabulous opportunities. But it still puts me yet further away."

Kakashi stopped and turned to her. She turned along with him, albeit reluctantly.

"Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, Rei." Count on Kakashi to drop pearls of wisdom.

"Well, I have heard that Sunagakure's improved their poison labs, I'll try to drop by?"

"See? That's the spirit." Kakashi crinkled his eye.

Rei knew a final order when she saw one and to spare herself further aggravation, she accepted this here and now. "Okay, old man. Let's get this briefing underway."

_Present hour_

And that was it.

Flattering, yet troublesome.

Sunagakure was truly by far the most challenging environment for young genin students to be testing their skills. You could say that those graduating from Wind Country edition exams were sure to be the toughest bunch, having to contend with such hazardous environment. Rei herself was a graduate of Suna edition chuunin exams and having the honours of visiting the Village as an examiner added to the nostalgia. She knew very well what those kids were going through.

Having decided, she settled for a late night stroll – or maybe even a brisk walk – through the streets of the sleeping Village. She tied her hair up back into a ponytail and reached for her black shawl, a gift she had received from her mother before her first diplomatic trip to Sunagakure. It was a fine mix of merino wool and silk, combination that made the shawl perfect for both keeping her warm in the cold weather and for protection against the desert's sun without overheating oneself.

Rei slipped on her boots and crouching on the windowsill, jumped onto the roof and down to the street. The nights of Suna were surprisingly chilly, as if the heat demon put his head down to a sound slumber and everyone could breathe in relief. She tightened the shawl around her shoulders and head as she looked up to the clear sky. It was a new moon, the stars not outshone by anything. Good lord. Konoha, as much as she loved her village, didn't have such brilliant, twinkling stars. Was that also the galaxy there? Yes.

It was so pleasant that she decided to take her walk further, to the Wind Gardens.

The Wind Country was something of a contradiction. It could be an oppressive, living hell – quite literally – when trekking through the desert heat, the only way to get to Suna, really. During one of the fights yesterday when one genin from Konoha collapsed from the heat, Kazekage's older brother, Kankuro, told her what had happened once to his companion when they got lost in the Sands as children. Rei shuddered at the mere memory of those words. Let's just say that you don't wander to the desert unprepared, for it is merciless and unrelenting. It will sear away any weakness – and those fortunate will be left with strengths. Such was the power of the desert. The sun beating down on one's head, stifling heat, rationed water sipped through a parched throat, the unending, scorched horizon of uniform beige. Every trip here was a dreadful memory, yet somehow she felt attracted to the sand dunes. They evoked deep respect and humility. Rei mused that perhaps this is where chuunin exams should always be held. Nothing builds up the spirit better than weather that is bent on killing you.

She turned from the main street to a back alley, a shortcut to the Gardens that she'd seen on the map, and the whispers of the wind were momentarily silenced.

Rei was a firm believer of challenging yourself. Continuously doing what terrified you, mustering the courage to cross the path anyway, not void of the underlying, tingling excitement of partaking in something extremely difficult and actually faring well in the process – this was the building of one's character, one's pillars, one's strength. Life was not made by those who sat comfortably in their armchairs, sipping chamomile tea and writing sweet stories. Though grandma Keiko would beg to differ. She'd left everything to focus on writing those silly stories of hers, which turned out to be the canon fairy tales that Fire Country reads, so…

Okay, so maybe you could make a life by sitting comfortably in the armchair, sipping chamomile tea. The point is, to bask in this comfort one has to cross a big gulf of fear, uncertainty, adversity, weakness of all sorts – to value something that is on the other side more than one's fears.

Suna was perfect for this.

Rei turned another corner and found herself again walking the wide promenade leading straight to Wind Gardens. The wind picked up, crisp and biting, and she tightened her shawl again, nodding to a Sand Anbu who hugged the shadows of the street. The examination was held in an arena south of the city, but tightened security over the entire city during this time was a must. Everyone still vividly remembered what happed when Kakashi's students had tried to become chuunin.

Craning her neck to look up, she walked under the evergreen trees guarding the entrance to the gardens, their presence imposing like ancient monuments to unnamed warriors as they stood sentinel to the gates of this sacred place. Because "_Water and flowers in the midst of the desert deserve to be treated as sacred_", as one local Suna examiner told her.

She liked Suna's people.

Yes. Suna was a precarious environment to live in. But it was also one to reward its inhabitants with the unparalleled beauty found in the littlest of places.

Scorching sun and bleached blue were replaced by the crystal-clear starlit sky, with the galaxy visible to the naked eye as she had never seen it in the Fire Country. Rei marvelled at the simple pleasure of being engulfed in a soothing cool breeze carrying the aroma of sweet flowers. The gusts of wind tugged at her soft shawl and loose clothes, caressing her skin, making her feel as she was dancing with the Air itself. _An element I have yet to master_. Right at her feet bloomed humble the night flowers, datura, as well as her most beloved wild thyme. She had no idea matthiola could survive this weather. Rei crouched, delicately plucking one tiny flower and drank deeply of its sweet, heady scent. This was her scent. Still to this day carrying the memory of her home country. She secured the flower behind her ear and continued her walk.

The silence disturbed only by sounds of nature casted a balmy spell on Rei's agitated thoughts. She was partial to mild weather – mild meaning not exceedingly hot in the summer and pleasantly freezing during winter – but she had to give Suna credit for its unique charm. This unbearable daylight heat giving way to chilling cold of the night, like the ebb and flow keeping one's senses in harmony.

Wind Gardens' path wound before her as she stepped further into the green sanctuary of the desert. She'd heard from Kankuro that the gardens were designed by the First Kazekage's wife. She was said to be a native of Water Country and while caring deeply for the Kazekage, missed her home greatly. Kankuro said with a curious smile on his lips that she was supposedly a powerful wielder of the Water element and her underground irrigation jutsu to this day was the secret that this oasis thrived, lush green and vibrant and exquisite.

She would have missed him if a particularly big red flower had not caught her attention.

As she approached the waist-high plant she suddenly became aware that someone was sitting on the dwarfish stone wall near the flower bush, partially hidden by giant agave spiky leaves. Rei stopped midway, her hand suspended in the air, mindful of the intrusion on another, probably as well as her seeking quiet. Only wind and cicadas singing passed between them.

She collected herself as the stranger, his face hidden by a hood, did not move a muscle and didn't utter a sound.

"I apologise for the intrusion."

He was either a civilian or an expert in masking his chakra. She almost didn't feel his presence, and he was sitting an arm's reach from her.

Without acknowledging her words, the stranger stood up, his hood falling to reveal what would be in day's light brilliant red hair. Now it was muted, similar to the colour of the flower that had caught Rei's attention just moments before this stranger threw her composure off balance.

"Are you coming?" The man looked over his shoulder to her and started to walk.

Mildly unhinged, Rei wanted to remind him about basics of _savoir-vivre_, but bit her tongue in time. "And you are…?"

_Be polite. This is Suna and you are a guest._

She did not move and he stopped in his step. He spoke over his shoulder to her again. "A storm is coming. You shouldn't be outside."

This was a ninja of high calibre, she judged, despite not being able to appraise his entire figure, as a feet-long cloak was hiding his form. No civilian would exude such a haughty air. She contemplated throwing a kunai at his retreating form to prove her thesis, but given she was a Konoha guest in Suna, and on an official mission as an examiner, that act could be considered offensive to Suna-Konoha friendship.

Though this man's arrogance probably justified just one kunai to his butt.

She counted mentally to five and followed the man's steps. His cloak was billowing in the rising wind, and so were the plants and trees. It looked as if he was right, so Rei quickly picked up her step, as the man was leading them to an exit. _Crazy Sand weather._

By the time they reached the gate – one on the other side than she had entered – the wind visibly heralded incoming storm, as fine dust particles were stubbornly trying to get into her eyes.

The man waited for her, looking at the sky and to his sides, assessing the situation. When she caught up to him, he turned to look her in the eyes. His towering form and dispassionate, yet penetrating gaze did not make it easier to stay angry at him. This, and he seemed quite older than her.

"Did you not listen to the forecast?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I could say the same about you?"

He looked past her and back into her eyes again. "Unlike you, I know how to survive a sandstorm."

"In case you did not notice, I am not a native to Suna." He raised one eyebrow, his piercing, nonchalant eyes unchanged. Rei suddenly felt like a child under that gaze and she fought the urge to throw at him her right hook. "And of course you did, so it would be only polite if you helped me here out."

As if to accent her point, a sudden gust of wind threw Rei off balance, sending her and her thrashing shawl right into the man's taller form. He steadied Rei with one hand, the other prying the soft material of her shawl from his face.

"It's worse than anticipated. You won't make it back to the hotel on time."

"My hotel is ten minutes' walk from here."

"Precisely. And ten minutes is not enough for this storm."

This spiked Rei's interested, as well as apprehension. She was sure she'd never seen him before, but here the guy seemed to know exactly where she lived. Was he a Suna official? A Suna hidden agent? Someone important? Someone very important? Or maybe someone who shouldn't be in Suna at all?

The unrelenting wind sanded away all inessential thoughts from her head. The man took her by the arm and started directing them towards somewhere.

"Where are we going?" Looking up to him, Rei tried to speak louder that the wind.

He looked down on her, squeezing her arm. Despite him behaving in a strange, suspicious way, she was glad by the intrusion on her personal space, for the wind threatened to blow her away right where she stood. _This weather is no joke. And I'm sure the forecast said nothing about the storm._ "Somewhere to wait the storm out."

In Suna you did not wonder whether you should take an umbrella. You listened closely to the wind to see if you will be on time to find shelter from a sandstorm.

Hadn't she just agreed with her inner self that Suna was lovely?

Hammering the strength into one's character through adversity. Lovely.

Rei covered her mouth and nose with her shawl, adding a thin film of chakra for a good measure. Dust and sand were dancing on the street in silky choreographed waves._ My God, Suna's inhabitants for sure must have suffered from some nasty, long-term lung diseases._

Her companion looked down at her again, his mouth and nose also covered with a thin layer of chakra.

In the beating sandstorm and onslaught on senses his warmth was the only guidance. Squinting and shielding her eyes with her hand, Rei trudged step by step, fighting the elements. Her mind was reduced to white noise – sand noise – all of her focus concentrated on not getting eaten alive by the elements.

Suddenly, as if someone had cut the air, the mad howl halted to a stop.

They were in a kind of storage room, the man swiftly shutting the door and when they clicked, the storm was reduced to a hollow noise rattling the windows as the sand bombarded the glass.

Rei looked around, assessing the space for any potential threats and then focused on the stranger, curious, but alert. She truly sensed no ill vibes from him, contradictory to what her mind wanted to think about his overall demeanour, but he still was a stranger who hadn't given her his name.

"Who are you?"

The man turned to her. Dirty windows let in streaks of streetlight, which filtered through the dust, lighting his hawk eyes golden. She now noticed that those eyes had long, dense lashes which overall could be considered very attractive, if only not counting the fact that the longer Rei looked into his golden orbs the more chill in her bones she felt. As if looking into the eyes of a dangerous predator.

"I am a Suna Council member," he replied in a soft, yet deep voice, a contrast to his brittle, no-nonsense behaviour up to this point.

A Council Member, so someone very important. Potentially safe. He hadn't kidnapped her yet, right?

"If you knew about the storm, why were you outside?"

Instead of an answer, he bored his eyes into hers, unblinking. She saw him move his eyes briefly to her left ear and she fought the urge to reach there to check if the flower was still tangled into her hair.

"I've had business to attend to," he answered at last and moved to sit down by the wall, stretching his legs in front of him and crossing them by the ankles, his cloak splayed beneath him. A pose of complete relaxation, if one could call a stone floor relaxing. A pose informing her that he apparently had nothing more to say on the matter. _Suit yourself, jerk._

Now that she had the time, Rei noticed his clothes were nothing like that of a council member. Far from Sunagakure shinobi uniform, too. Open toe jika-tabi shoes snugly fitting his feet, calves wrapped tightly in fabric, loose ninja pants with a weapon holster attached to his left thigh, and finally, a flak vest with a loose tunic underneath, sashed around his waist with a weapon holster belt, with leather bracers on his lower-arms. A council member? She was inclined to advocate the idea of him being a secret agent. Everything he had on him was black. And as Rei strained her eyes in the dark, she decided the material had to be the top-grade bamboo mix she sometimes saw on a display in the shops – and even once tried it on herself. It was so expensive she could only dream about it. No way she was going to spend the equivalent of two-months' worth of her rent on a shirt. At least not in the near future, but she could and would dream of this soft, breathable fabric adjusting the body temperature according to the conditions outside, easy to wash and dry and on top of everything, protecting the skin from UV rays.

_A potential enemy sits mere two meters next to you and you are discussing fabric in your head?_

Emerging from her inner world, she found the man observing her. His red hair was still lightly dusted by the sand and his impassioned face and observant eyes did not betray any thoughts. Should they talk more weather?

While still not completely trusting him, Rei decided for now situation was stable. Fucked up, but stable. All this guy did was reluctantly drag her from the snatches of a storm, say some clipped remarks, and then basically ignore her. If he wanted to do her harm, he'd had plenty of opportunities already. It felt to Rei like her presence was upsetting him, but he gave up, seeing there was no way to change the current situation. They could only wait.

She suddenly found herself overcome with a tidal wave of tiredness and saw no sense in denying herself some form of rest, so she sat down by the wall to his right, putting a slight distance between them. Her ponytail dug in her skull as she rested her head on the wall, so she let her hair loose, trying to feel for the flower, but it had apparently fallen out already. After a while of silence and monotonous, muted storm noises outside, she heard him inhale deeply and slowly exhale.

"How long will the storm last?"

"Probably until morning." His bored voice.

_Bloody brilliant._

The man had yet to tell her his name, but when she closed her eyes to rest for just a minute, she realised speaking was too great a feat to perform, the lulling ambient noise assisting her in this realisation. She wanted a night walk to tire her pleasantly into a firm night's rest, so the universe delivered. Lovely.

_I will ask him in just a minute._

Soothed by the howling sandstorm outside, she didn't even know when she fell soundly asleep.

-[-]-

"Akimori-san." Something shook Rei by the arm. She swatted the nagging fly away.

"Akimori-san! Please wake up." The fly was becoming more obnoxious and Rei cracked one eye open. She was greeted by large brown eyes hovering just over her.

Bolting upright, she almost knocked the person-fly over.

"The-the chuunin exams will start soon…" stammered a young Suna shinobi.

Still groggy with the last wisps of dreams, she focused on the here and now, her cramped neck assisting her with this. "Understood. I'll be there shortly."

The boy saluted and scampered away.

_Damn! The report._

_Oh Good Lord and Heavens. Last night._

Storming outside, Rei looked around and jumped over to the roof, the morning sun blinding her. She ran in the direction of the hotel to grab the damned report. Had she dreamt about last night? The report, the report.

The exams were supposed to begin at nine, sharp. The large solar clock embedded in the ground told her it was eight. Wait, why and who sent this little boy as her personal alarm clock? _Oh, don't tell me._

Not wasting the time for doors and stairs, Rei hopped inside her hotel room through an open window. First thing's first. She grabbed the report and quickly wrote what was missing. She had an excellent incentive to finish it with lightning speed before she lost any focus, because memories of last night's bizarre encounter were slowly, but surely trickling into her consciousness.

She was done after fifteen minutes.

"And then they kissed, I guess." Putting her pen down with a click on the wooden desk, she secured the scroll to her vest and hurried to refresh herself. Her reflection did not frighten her as she feared it would. She noticed, though, tying her hair again in a high ponytail, that the desert sun bleached her dark red strands, bringing out golden highlights. _Excellent_.

For another day filled with assessing the struggles of young genin students she opted for black loose fitting pants, a loose shirt, equally black, and a dark grey shinobi flack vest. Decent, clean and presentable, Rei slung the bag with her essential desert survival kit over her shoulder, double checked she had the report and left her room like a civilised-like a civilian through the door. As she was descending the stairs she realised she'd forgotten the pen. _Oh, bugger it._ She'd sort everything tonight.

"'Morning, Rei." Kakashi crinkled his eye in a greeting. He was apparently lounging in the reception with not a care in the world and certainly not rushing to the examination timed to commence in twenty minutes.

"I must be very late if I'm leaving to the exams with you."

"Pleasure to see you as well." He pocketed his orange book and they exited into the street, the sun touching their skin like hot, molten lava.

Rei noted how efficiently Suna had dealt with the aftermath of last night's sandstorm. She recalled how the sand had been piling up into dunes as she – they – walked yesterday. The streets were now neat, clean, almost all the sand and dust swept away.

Sandstorms were a pretty normal occurrence here – and she realised now she _had_ checked the weather report yesterday. It hadn't warned of any weather anomalies.

"Kakashi, did you check the weather report yesterday?" She inquired the silver haired man.

"I did."

"It was weird it said nothing of this sandstorm, right?"

Kakashi looked over to her. "Maybe. But this is Suna. Sandstorms happen all the time," he replied in a tone betraying lukewarm interest in Suna's weather.

Could the conditions break down just like this, in a moment's notice? That was the case for the mountains, where you should always be prepared for meteorological surprises. But a sandstorm is not a hailstorm somewhere high up, where it could thrash some grass and branches. An unexpected sandstorm here in Sunagakure could potentially mean a loss of life. During her past visits to the Wind Country she licked some of the advanced weather prediction systems Suna scientists used and knew first-hand how precise they were.

Nature was unpredictable and sometimes had an upper hand, she decided. Mistakes happen. One should always be prepared. _Just few more days and there will be rain and trees as far as the eye could see._

"First to the exam arena?" Kakashi proposed lazily, effectively bringing her back to Sunagakure's hot, biting soil.

"Forget it, I just showered."

"You'll be sweaty and stinky in no time."

"Kakashi, that's awful of you."

Despite the strong sun, the air still bore this unique quality of almost-crispiness before the heatwave and she felt the beginning of perspiration on her back.

"C'mon, Rei. Don't make me beg you."

She had a weak spot for her former teammate when he employed his Deep Voice Technique on her.

"Fine." She smiled at him and noticed his cat-who-just-ate-a-bird look in his lone eye. "Go!"

Not waiting for the silver-haired shinobi to join her, she darted across the street and jumped onto the rooftops. She didn't spot any signs forbidding rooftop parkour and once she'd realised it was genuinely cooler up here than on the ground level, rooftops had quickly become her favourite mode of transportation in Suna.

She ran with the wind on her heels and smile on her face. Thank the gods for Kakashi. She'd wither here without him.

Rei analysed the route to the exam arena in her head, wondering where the best shortcut would be. She'd visited Suna intermittently and by no means knew every nook and cranny here, yet she could confidently say she'd find her way here anywhere the skies would choose to drop her. Hoping up to a higher roof to gain a better vantage point, she decided first to run east, towards the sun, into the marketplace, and then straight south to the arena. She had a feeling Kakashi would win, as always, but no way she was going not to give her best.

She jumped to the ground, scuffing up some dust, and run, sashaying between the vegetable stands. When the street rose around her again, she skidded south and onto the rooftops again, dashing full speed.

In Suna, one needed not to construct elaborate examination grounds. The atmospheric conditions were enough, as Rei had presented last night. For examination purposes, Suna had erected a large stadium sort of arena outside the city walls where fights of any destruction range could be held. From breaking the ground to flooding it with flammable oil, beast summons, you name it.

Kakashi was by the entrance when she jumped to the ground from the wall.

"Just how, old man?"

"An old man needs to keep his secrets."

They clasped a high five and entered the hall leading to the main arena. Kankuro greeted them, if one could call a mild irritation a greeting.

"You both realise you're late?"

Kakashi waived as he headed down the corridor, but the puppet master held Rei back. "I need to speak to you about something."

This raised a mild alarm, for Kankuro was not irritated, as she now noticed looking at the man up close. He was agitated, his eyes nervously scanning the corridor.

"Has something happened?"

"Come with me." Kankuro gestured at the door not far from where they stood.

Rei nodded and followed him into a small office room. He closed the door after them.

"Listen, Rei." Kankuro looked at her with a hard gaze. "I'm not really supposed to speak about this…"

"Then don't," she cut him. Better than spill some secrets she was not privy of was to help him keep his word and his integrity.

Kankuro just looked at her, his face constricted, betraying he was waging an internal battle.

A bell rung in the hall signalling that examination with begin in five minutes.

"That would be my call," she said. "Kankuro, whatever it is, we can talk after the examination, okay?" Her smile didn't seem to have any effect on the shinobi and she wondered what it could be that troubled Kankuro so much.

"Stay safe, Rei."

Not really comforted by this talk, Rei caught up to Kakashi and they sat together at the examiner's seats on the wide dias above the arena. The table to the right of them was occupied by a jounin pair from Sand and Rei waved at them as she sat. Next to Kakashi to the left two gruff-looking Stone nins were studying the report cards.

"Everything alright?" The silver haired man mouthed to her.

"I don't know." She mouthed back, looking at him pointingly. "I do hope so."

The judge for today's round of examinations began the presentation of the schedule. The winners from yesterday would compete in rounds against each other. Rei took the scrolls present before them and scanned one more time the results of yesterday's fights, remembering how each of examinees fared. She looked up to see the Kazekage also present on the opposite side of the arena. Gaara had always had an impenetrable face, but right now he scored ten out of ten in "move no face muscle competition", so exceedingly consumed in studying the desk in front of him. And to the left of him…

_Shoot me. Now._

The man from yesterday, present in full light.

"That's Sasori of Red Sand."

Rei didn't jump, but her pulse did.

So _this_ was Kankuro's teacher. Grandma Chiyo's grandson. Poison lab director. And apparently a Council Member. A name she'd been hearing here and there every time she'd visited Sunagakure, but now she finally had a face for that name.

"Since when did you add mindreading to your repertoire?" she said in low volume, never lowering her gaze from the man – Sasori. Brilliant red hair surrounded his impassioned face. He seemed like a statue carved in stone, regal, cold and stoic. Power – and cold beauty – emanated from him even at the distance. His gaze was fixed for a moment on the arena and then he moved his vigilant eyes up, twenty metres right from where she was sitting. He looked well-rested, well-groomed and carried around himself an undeniable aristocratic aura. She felt even smaller inside than she did under his gaze last night and an irrational irritation at actually being ignored.

Kakashi eyed her curiously. "Have you met him before?"

Rei looked back at him and then shifted her gaze to Sasori again, his red hair pulling her like a magnet. "Well…"

"Now, Rei-chan, spill the beans."

"It's nothing like that!" she shot back, appalled, turning to him.

"So there is something?" he asked, his tone suggesting he _knew_ she was hiding something and his lone eye watched her closely.

"I don't know the guy, hold your horses! I've only heard the name."

"But you have met him."

"Well…"

Technically, they had met, if you could call the bizarre encounter from last night a meeting. Rei sat exactly opposite him, right in his line of sight, yet he didn't seem to even try casting her a glance. No recognition whatsoever. He probably would have helped anyone trapped and in danger like her. Still… Who was this man? As much as he had annoyed her with his blunt demeanour, he also intrigued her. She had met with the Kazekage and Suna officials before, on other diplomatic missions, yet it was her first time seeing Sasori of Red Sand. How a man of such versatile function in the Village could have been hiding so successfully from her sight? Kakashi instantly recognised him, though. She would grill the silver haired jounin tonight for more intel on this Sasori guy.

The bustle around them quieted as the first contestants entered the arena below – her student, Mitsushi, and a genin from Stone. Rei was confident with the girl's abilities and impressed with her overall mental strength. Mitsushi looked up and Rei smiled at her, nodding in encouragement. One good thing that had come from being appointed here was that she could directly support and oversee her student.

Above the arena, the door behind Gaara and the other officials swung open and Kankuro entered. Even at the distance, Rei saw he was pale and clearly agitated. The puppet master leaned close to Gaara, whispered something and they both looked up, searching for her – and looking at her intently. Goosebumps rose on her arms.

"Kakashi, something is going on."

"I see it."

Kakashi was observing closely the exchange between brothers as well. "They're coming," he said quietly.

"I can see," she replied through her teeth.

They observed out of the corner of their eyes as Suna Anbu advanced steadily on them.

"Kankuro wanted to speak with me. Maybe something's happened."

At this very same moment the Kazekage stood up.

"The chuunin examination is as of now suspended."

A chorus of voices erupted around them, and agitated shinobi passed one message between them.

_Killed_.

"Akimori-san, please come with us."

The Anbu were flanking them and Rei felt as if in slow-motion action cinema.

"What for?"

"It is a direct order from the Kazekage."

Cold chills cascaded down her back and she shared a look with Kakashi. He gave her their hand signal for '_I have your back_'.

'_I genuinely have no bloody idea what is going on_', Rei signalled back.

"I'm coming," she announced curtly to the Anbu guards, noticing their garb was different from what she'd seen in Suna before.

"Follow us."


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: Spannungsbogen  
**Author**: NovemBerries  
**Characters/Pairing**: Sasori and Akimori Rei (OC)  
**Genre**: Drama/Romance/Mystery  
**Word Count**: 5528  
**Raiting**: T (subject to change)  
**Disclaimer**: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. No money is being made from this story.  
**Completed on**: 29SEP2019  
**Published on**: 02OCT2019  
**Chapter Last Revised on**: 02OCT2019

A/N And a happy birthday to me.

* * *

[ CHAPTER 2 ]** SAOIRSE**

_Pronounced "sear-sha__"; freedom._

* * *

"Serizawa Yukio of Cloud is dead."

Baki's words echoed in the stone walls of the young Kazekake's office.

"He was killed last night, for reasons as of yet unknown."

Not even a half an hour had passed and everyone important in Suna had gathered here: Gaara's siblings, Kankuro and Temari, Grandma Chiyo and her brother Ebizo, Baki and three other council representatives, the Anbu chief captain. Representatives from other villages were also present, Cloud included. All of them wearing various shades of shock on their grim faces. Apparently, Rei had been chosen as a spokesperson for Konoha, while Kakashi had stayed back to take care of their students. She thought it peculiar, as Kakashi was her senior and a far more experienced shinobi, but maybe they preferred to speak with someone whose father hadn't dealt significant damage to them during the last war. Let it be their way.

Sasori was also present here, standing behind her. She could swear she felt his presence there like radiating waves. _Someone important. But still suspicious._ The others tried casting him hasty glances, but it was as if he was repelling their gaze. Did they knew more of who he was? If so, everyone had an advantage over Rei. She was half in the dark still as to what the function of this Sasori guy was.

Her heart was pumping pure adrenaline as she thought intently on what this situation really meant. Killing a student during an examination was almost a blunt act of provocation. Yet the Sand-Cloud relations were at this moment peaceful, if not boring, so anyone wanting to stir things up had chosen the wrong target. If they wanted to strain relationships between villages, they should have aimed at her Mitsushi, an obvious blow for Konoha – from allied Suna, if one were staging this. Still, Rei took small comfort in the fact that none of their students was hurt in any way.

The question was…

"Are you absolutely certain this was a murder and not an accident?" asked a pale kunoichi from Water. Some grunted in agreement and before Baki could continue with his report, the foreign shinobi attacked him with questions and suppositions.

"Is someone from here behind this?" interjected the gruff Stone nin that had been sitting at the table next to hers in the arena.

"We have sent a hawk to the Raikage." The Cloud shinobi was visibly shaken, his face drawn in, yet holding their composure. "But this is strikingly unprecedented. The situation must be resolved."

Baki raised his hand to attempt to tame them. "Our special forces are working to solve this as we speak, with all the resources available to us. And this certainly was a murder. The boy received a stab in the lower right abdomen, which severed the aorta, leading to an internal haemorrhage. He died at approximately one in the morning."

Rei felt the fine hair on her neck rise. This was roughly the time she took a walk yesterday.

"Kazekage-sama, you _do_ realise this might mean war?" The shinobi from Water in a blue vest.

"Now, let's not be rash..." Baki spoke in place of Gaara.

"No one means a war here," interjected Temari with her ringing voice. "This is an examination. Deaths happen."

"In the arena – yes. While the boy slept? Who are you kidding?" The gruff Stone nin.

"How else to explain it? Why kill an innocent kid?" The blue-vested Water shinobi had a sceptical look on his face.

"Exactly. This makes no sense. This is no declaration of war." The tall kunoichi from Sand.

"What if it really was an accident? The kid could have been wandering at night all by himself. Wrong time, wrong place. _Khhr_." The other Stone nin gesticulated how easily your throat could be sliced, his brown beard moving as he spoke.

"My student wasn't one to defy orders." The Cloud shinobi raised his eyebrow. "He certainly wasn't wandering all alone in the night."

"His body was found in the intersection of the Promenade and Dune street." Baki again, trying to continue with the report.

"See? That's pretty close to the hotel," argued the Water shinobi.

_Hoooly crap. It's where I walked yesterday. _Rei had a very bad feeling about this.

"We have tightened the security for this very reason," Baki spoke again.

"And the sandstorm yesterday. It wasn't forecasted. He could have simply lost his way." The short kunoichi from Stone with a mole on her nose.

"And have been stabbed by accident?" asked incredulously and mockingly the Water shinobi.

"We must look into all factors, this might be more than just a death of a student," kunoichi from the Lightning was all reason.

"What are you at now?" the Stone nin was not buying this.

"Doesn't it look suspicious?" the shinobi from Water was pressing his reasoning.

"It's shinobi life. As Temari-san said, deaths happen." Spoke the blonde kunoichi from Water, who had been silent up until now.

"We must not lose our heads. Accusations will throw us further apart from the truth." The third Lightning shinobi, who also spoke for the first time, earned with his statement sharp looks from his companions.

"Wisely spoken, yet how can you be sure?" The Stone nin crossed his arms and looked ready to tear down more arguments.

Rei listened to the exchange in the room and watched as Gaara's face grew sour with frustration. The Kazekage had yet to speak since they entered his office. All things considered, a murder during an examination was a bad PR for the Hidden Village. Sunagakure had only recently regained its former stability under the reign of the young Kazekage, not without intense and sincere help from Konoha. Kakashi's student, Naruto, was a driving force here, and personally, Rei believed the alliance was benefiting both of the Villages tremendously. As to the incident itself, it was different from what had happened in Konoha three years ago, as then it was evident from the start that an external, slithery threat was trying to mess the exam up. Now, the truth was nowhere in sight. All that everyone had was lack of evidence, suspicions and a major bafflement.

The yammer of discussion was broken when someone knocked loudly, or rather banged, at the door and then entered like a fury, running straight up to Gaara.

"Kazekage-sama!" A Sand jounin stopped and saluted. He was out of breath, his chest heaving with each intake of air, with pearls of sweat running down his temples.

Gaara regarded him with seriousness. "What is it?"

"Reporting. A new evidence has been delivered just now." Gaara accepted the scroll and beckoned Baki. The jounin approached Gaara at once and bent over the scroll with him. Grandma Chiyo's face darkened and Rei looked at her curiously. She felt as if she could almost read what this expression meant. Since the first time Rei came to Sunagakure Chiyo had welcomed her warmly, to the point of overstepping professional boundaries. Rei thought it irksome at first, but with time learned to recognise the old woman's sincerity and began to get to know her a little. She also appreciated deeply the exchange about poisons with her and now was really looking forward to visiting the refurbished Suna labs. _The Sasori guy, they're his labs._

After a few tense moments the Kazekage and his council advisor looked up and it seemed as if they didn't have good news. Baki addressed the room. Or rather, one person in particular. "There was a witness to the murder."

If the room was silent before, now the silence was so dense you could cut it with a knife. Rei felt her heart beating loudly in her ears.

"The account delivered to us states clearly that the person who killed Serizawa was Sasori-sama."

Sasori made a step forward, so that he was standing now parallel to Rei. She felt dryness attack her mouth and her palms sweat.

"That's impossible!" Grandma Chiyo looked with widened eyes between Sasori and Gaara. "It makes no sense, it's impossible!"

Ebizo caught her by the elbow, murmuring something only she could hear. Grandma Chiyo calmed down, but still appeared ready to asphyxiate if any new information was presented.

"Sasori-sama. The law requires you to be detained immediately," stated Baki not without some discomfort.

"I was with Sasori during the night, I can vouch for his innocence," Rei suddenly spoke, loud and clear.

The shockwave spread through the room. She realised in this very moment the meaning of what she's just said and felt heat rising to her cheeks. And gods as her witnesses, split her open, she couldn't explain what prompted her to say this. She felt Sasori giving her a loaded look and he didn't stop piercing her with those amber eyes until Baki addressed him.

"Sasori-sama, is there any evidence supporting your alibi?"

"Except for Rei—unfortunately, no," he said tonelessly, his voice despite its softness carrying a certain gravity.

This was the first time when he acknowledged her using her name. She saw the cogs in her mind moving as they were trying to process the pieces of information together, instinctively sensing she was about to come to an important realisation. And then someone dropped a bucket of ice in her stomach. Never once in his presence had Rei's name been spoken out loud, to her knowledge. How had he known her name? What else was he aware of regarding her? Examiner, yes, access to official records, but how, how. It was a feeling of the floor moving from under you. Suddenly you have no idea who is the ally here. A creepy jigsaw.

"Sasori-sama. By Sunagakure's laws we are obliged to detain you until further notice while the investigation would be pending," repeated Baki.

Various reactions followed. Kankuro looked devastated, his eyes betraying certain panic, Temari's mouth was hanging slightly open and Gaara rubbed his temples. The foreign shinobi in the room discreetly moved away from Sasori and kept silent, as if not knowing what to say, as if Sasori was a dangerous animal who could sense their fear. In the meantime, something caught Baki's attention in the scroll and he unrolled it completely. He read something at the bottom and straightened, his eyes wide like saucers – looking at Rei, then back to the report, and then back to Rei again.

"Rei-san, I'm afraid I have to detain you as well."

"What?" _What the fuck?_ She felt her blood literally turn cold in her veins.

"The evidence that was supplied to us points to an accomplice helping Sasori-sama in the act, a-" Baki looked to the scroll. "'red haired Konoha kunoichi'".

Kankuro shot Rei an anxious look and Grandma Chiyo at this point looked at the verge of a seizure.

Rei felt as if a boulder hit her in the head and she crushed an acid poison pill in the process. Every cell in her body resonated with dread. If only she hadn't spoken for Sasori, there would be no link between them. It'd be harder to believe they had anything in common with each other and her case would look clearer. But now…

She also understood in that instant that something very suspicious and probably incredibly dangerous happened that night and that inadvertently she'd got tangled in the trap ensnaring Sasori. _Well… If he was indeed innocent._ He should be on the run now if he had killed that boy, and not just hanging around here, right? _Right?_

She shot an alarmed look at him at last and saw he realised this as well, for his eyes bore the same grim determination that she felt welling inside her.

Together with sparks of panic threatening to spontaneously combust, but that's another matter altogether.

"Rei-san, there is an Anbu eyewitness to your presence at the site of murder as well," Baki continued. "According to Suna Constitution, I have to detain you both until we can procure a solid proof of innocence, Sasori-sama, Rei-san."

_What eyewitness now?_ She then recalled the guard near the Wind Gardens. _Oh, probably that lizard._

"Baki-san, you know this is a trap," pleaded Rei, determination and desperation hardening her features, as her inner self tried to take a reign over the terror inside. "Suna and Konoha are strong allies. I'd never do anything to endanger trust and the treaty between our nations." She then turned to address Gaara directly. "Kazekage-sama, you know that I belong to the inner circle of advisors for Hokage-sama. And I've been appointed an examiner here at last moment's notice – I wasn't even supposed to be here." She truly, deeply, just wanted to be among her fire trees, watching the droplets of rain cascade down the lush, green leaves.

Baki was inconvincible. But who could blame him? "Rei-san, I know this, but law is absolute here, until we can look at solid-"

Just as Sasori was about to add something to this discussion, Gaara cut in with his soft, steel-laden voice. "Sasori, Rei, please comply. You have my trust." He eyed first the older shinobi, and then her. "But law is clear here. I can't exclude you because of familiarity or position. If you are innocent, we will get to the bottom of this."

Rei opened her mouth to argue, because even a simple act of being detained could mar forever her career as a shinobi _and_ as an aspiring medic, but was stopped by a firm grip on her shoulder. Warmth spread under her skin as Sasori squeezed her gently. She wanted to yank her arm free, but snapped shut, pressing her lips thin. _First he pretends to not to know me, and now he wants to be friends and accomplices. What. Is. It. With. This. Guy._

But then she saw a faint light at the end of the tunnel. If she had learnt anything about Sasori in the brief period they were next to each other, it's that this man was somehow a powerful presence, hiding something underneath this silent, arrogant behaviour. It was possible he'd be thinking right now about solving their predicament. Her future was on the line, but this calmed down a bit her frantic thoughts. _Just a tiny bit._ He was also a Suna citizen here. Maybe he really could think of something, a loophole, a paragraph in their favour.

Because to her, right now, a way to get out of this situation would probably involve breaking several laws – hopefully without breaking any necks. Rei knew this was panic speaking through her, but without Kakashi by her side she felt open, vulnerable. There was no one to speak for her and back her up.

She felt Sasori's eyes on her as he let go of her arm, but supressed the urge to look back at him.

Gaara and Baki bent over some papers and talked in hushed voices. Temari took this as a cue to whisper with Kankuro and Grandma Chiyo, while Ebizo just looked at Sasori and her with his bottomless eyes. It was a slippery ground. She was innocent and wanted to fight with teeth and claws for her life, but one wrong word could further incriminate Konoha's reputation in the eyes of all shinobi gathered here. They will spread the message and the account of what had happened here. She tried not to make any eye contact with their disbelieving, condescending, terrified eyes. She must hold her chin high and not give them any reason. She was innocent. Truth was with her. She would find a way.

Then Gaara lifted his head to meet Rei's expectant eyes. Her nerves were tight as a drawn bow, the archer's hand shaking slightly.

"The Anbu will escort you now to the holding cells."

And that was it. The tension swirled and turned into a shade of confusion and hopelessness.

Rei felt the words on the tip of her tongue, but willed herself to utter nothing. She nodded grimly, and shot an askance look up at Sasori. The older shinobi's regal profile was inscrutable. A true poker face. Hopefully he had some cards up his sleeve as well. She swore she saw venom in his eyes and it chilled her.

Two Anbu guards materialised from the shadows and grabbed them, taking them outside of the Kazekage's office. Rei felt her life move in front of her eyes as she feebly realised all the ramifications of what was happening – and wondered if she would ever make it out unscathed. The prospect of imprisonment in a dank, sweltering cell… Death would probably be easier.

She desperately needed to talk to Sasori in private. How did he know about her. What had he been doing that night. Why did he agree to play along when she spoke for him. What would happen next?

She noticed the Anbu escorted them to the elevator door. One of them pressed the button with a gloved hand and they heard the lift move inside the shaft. This was unreal. She must have been dreaming. The Hokage knew Rei's loyalty was wrought in stone and the blonde would never buy this whole framing thing. But to believe and to make happen by legal means without fraying the friendship between Villages were two different things.

The door chimed open and they entered the shaky elevator, the Anbu guards never losing contact with them. Their hold was abrasive and would probably leave bruises. The elevator wasn't really roomy and with three big men and her inside, the space felt almost uncomfortably cramped. It didn't seem to faze Sasori at all, though. He locked eyes with her and she felt her vision funnel at him, only. The air electrified and Rei knew with her kunoichi sense that something would happen soon. Now. The door closed shut and the bumpy ride down begun. Rei had seconds before the action started.

Then Sasori nodded almost imperceptibly.

Now!

Rei tensed. _Here it comes._

But all that happened was Sasori shooting his palms out and the guards collapsing within the matter of seconds.

The Puppet Master in an interlude action. She noticed that to his palms there were attached glowing, blue strings that were already working on unhatching the top panel. In two blinks of an eye, he nimbly hoisted himself outside, and Rei followed him, clutching the rough metal surface for balance. Just when her feet disappeared, the elevator stopped and the door opened with a ding.

They had seconds before everyone discovered their escape. She _could_ stay and be lawful. Or follow Sasori and then gods only knew what.

"There's technical tunnel few meters above us." Sasori's voice sounded hollow as he reattached the panel and then started climbing the wall.

Relying on her instincts, Rei followed him, scaling the wall with chakra. They already heard shouts below them – their absence had been noticed. Rei's fate had been sealed.

Sasori swiftly climbed inside the technical tunnel and Rei slid her body in the narrow space after him, accommodating her bag. They barely fitted the metal shaft and she felt her throat constrict as she imagined the walls compressing around her. Sasori was already moving into the bellows of the building, so she clamped a lid on her claustrophobia and followed, followed him. To what end – only time will tell, and certainly not now.

It was midday, the air inside the technical shaft stale and hot and stifling. Lack of oxygen was making Rei dizzy and adrenaline pumped her limbs with sparkling lightness. She couldn't take a full breath and if this continued any moment longer, she would pass out from either lack of air or from insanity. Sasori turned and climbed and she lost the track of time, just following his dark form and drowning in the dully echoing noises their passage made.

After what seemed like hours and what in reality were few minutes she felt a movement in the air, an end to this madness. Sasori unceremoniously pushed a crate at the end of the tunnel, and it fell with a ruckus, and jumped, disappearing. Rei followed him like a dying person to catch her breath, quite literally. She fell ungracefully to the ground and before she buried her nose in the dirt, his arms steadied her. Taking greedy lungfuls of hot air, she regained conscious awareness of the situation. Clutching the soft bamboo fabric of his clothes she became aware of a musky, dusty, yet fresh scent. It banished the blackout, grounding her.

And then he hauled Rei to her feet.

"Wait!"

They were in the back alley with no other soul in sight, but they heard soft commotion of the city somewhere nearby. Someone could walk in on them and raise alarm any moment. They probably realised this would be their only escape route.

Sasori looked down on her, his red hair a tangled halo around his sculpted face. She frantically searched his eyes.

"We need to run. Now." His no-nonsense voice was soft, yet commanding, on the verge of being irritated.

Why was he even helping her? Rei could swear her presence had been unwanted to him up until now. And he was dead wrong if he thought she'd just follow him without a word. But it wasn't as if she had any choice right now. So for now, let it be. She would follow her gut feeling.

So she nodded. Imperceptibly. And they ran.

Good thing she'd practiced her rooftop parkour, because if someone told her once that she would sprint, dash and jump through the rooftops of Sunagakure not as a pastime sport, but as a run to her freedom, she would snort. Rei brought her senses into full alert. This was live or die. Carving her way into the total unknown with wind in her ears and heart pumping blood mixed with adrenaline.

The heart of the afternoon with its oven-like air wasn't created for outside activities, but when you have to run, you have no choice. Rei tried to wipe the sweat dribbling down her forehead, but engaged in full speed run, she only made it worse, smearing the sweat over her eyes. A roof tile cracked under her feet and her brain chose this moment to remind her that all of her things were currently sitting in the hotel room. The quill she'd received from Kakashi and that expensive body balm… _Shit._

Everything had to be left behind. Sasori's red hair glistened under the blazing Sunagakure sun as he jumped from one roof to another, Rei following him closely, rolling as she landed on the opposite side. Then she noticed it – behind them – the chase.

"They're behind!"

"I know." He threw the words back at her and jumped sharply to the left. Supporting herself on her palm, Rei vaulted over the gap between buildings and flipped over, almost crashing with Sasori. She steadied herself by holding to his arm and saw him scanning the area.

"They are coming from three directions." He said and then looked down at her hand still holding his arm. She let her hand fall and internally scolded herself. The guy was giving off mixed signals and she'd do best to remember to keep to herself and don't familiarise with him. "We need to reach the south gate. There's a hidden exit there." He continued, his bright hazel eyes looking deadly serious at her. Rei nodded, serious as well.

They sprinted again. Rei's legs were burning and the impossible absurdity of today's situation was almost catching up to her, but this was live or die. Run or die. Or I don't know what is happening and what will happen to me, be it I am caught. It was too ridiculous for words. She felt the tears sting her eyes and blinked furiously several times.

They jumped down into a street shadowed by colourful canopies and stormed through it. A tiny reprieve from the heat. The street was deserted and for a moment they heard only their dashing footsteps. Until a shuriken swished by Rei's ear.

"They're catching up." She panted.

Sasori grabbed her arm and turned right to a narrow alley, the momentum almost sending her crashing into the wall. She deflected the impetus with her palm and ran on her burning legs. She could swear her feet were burning too, from trampling the heat of the Sunagakure's blazing roofs and ground.

"This way." Sasori again took her by the arm and stopped, indicating a door to their left. He sent a kick and the door swung open with such a force that it closed behind them as they ran through the dark corridor. They ran in the dark like speed demons and Rei felt adrenaline spike in her stomach with every step she put into the black void, with only echoes of their run. She was blind here and could trip any time. Thankfully, soon faint line of lights appeared above them and they reached a crossroad. Sasori didn't hesitate and turned right. Rei instinctively masked her chakra as they ran and Sasori looked back from the corner of his eye, masking his chakra, too.

Now they should be invisible, just for a moment. Masking one's chakra consumed considerable amount of stamina, therefore it couldn't be held indefinitely. But right now it seemed like a good moment to disappear from the radar. It was easier to run when not being boiled alive. They could recuperate their forces a tiny bit.

Without any warning, Sasori stopped still and Rei halted to a stop as well, walking up soundlessly to where he stood_. I go when he goes. I stop when he stops. I'm truly at his mercy._

He took her by the arm and wordlessly backtracked few paces, stepping inside a stone niche to the right. He then unceremoniously pushed her deeper into the niche and positioned himself in front of her, effectively blocking her form from the view of anyone crossing the tunnel. Before Rei had a chance to push him back to repel the intrusion and give a word or two about tossing her around, she felt a faint signature of someone approaching.

"Someone's coming," he said in a low voice somewhere close to her left ear. "Mask you chakra flawlessly."

_This. Guy._

The echo of someone's running steps sounded in the silence and was steadily approaching them. They were standing so close to each other that she was sure Sasori could hear her heart beating wildly like a bird wanting to break free from a cage. And if not for her vest, she was sure with every breath she took her chest would be touching his. The steps sounded like just from around the corner and Rei inhaled sharply. She prayed this someone just passed them by. And when the steps pounded just in front of their hiding place and ran further without stopping, she let out the breath she was not aware of holding. For a moment they just stood there, motionless. She saw nothing but black void and smelled only the dusty muskiness. _And cookies. An amateur of sweets, we are_,she snorted internally. But nevermind him. It was a rest Rei's body was screaming for and she would give anything to be able to put her head down to rest for just a few minutes longer.

She must have touched upon a near-dream state, because when she felt Sasori move, she was sure at least half an hour passed as they waited. She scolded herself internally. It was already the second time when she let her guards down near this man. Rei stored this thought to ponder upon later and grimly vowing to be more careful, she brought her attention to the present. She checked the surroundings and felt no one around. The intruder was probably already far away, but Sasori strained his senses in his own way, if his half-mast eyes and intent face were of any indication.

"The chase didn't enter the tunnels," he said after a few moments. "Let's go."

_He must be a freaking sensory god. _

Not wasting any more time, they resumed their run. They didn't meet any more trouble and Rei found it suspicious. It was too easy. She voiced her thoughts to Sasori.

"They are waiting twenty metres to the left from the entrance," he said evenly. "Get ready."

Rei bit her lip. If she fights with the Suna Anbu, it will add to her offence against the state. She just wanted to be free. But she had no more time to ponder, because behind the last bend of the corridor they resurfaced to the desert. The hot air hit them like an open oven and true indeed, in some distance to the left a group of Suna Anbu was waiting for them. They had no chance to run further if they didn't dispose of those Anbu first.

In a flurry of movements, Sasori called forth two puppets from his scroll.

The Anbu wasted no time and attacked them head on, all at once. Rei didn't draw a kunai until she saw one of the attackers aim at her with a blade on his own. She was making defensive moves only, dodging the kunai slices or parring them, though when one of the Suna Anbu kicked her painfully in the hip she couldn't help but cut his knees with a kick on her own and happily watch as he landed hard on his back.

Throwing one of her attackers over her shoulder and then spinning to kick the blade out of another's Anbu hand, Rei chanced a look at Sasori. He was incapacitating them without killing, too, as she saw no blood on the sand, though she was sure she saw certain unhingedness in his moves.

As if he was suppressing a quiet rage.

In a matter of minutes the squadron of Suna Anbu was splayed on the ground, unmoving, unconscious. The last of them put his arms up and made several steps towards Sasori. His shirt was billowing in the wind and brown hair were flying wildly across his mask.

"Sasori-sama, if you run now, the chances to prove your innocence will be slim." His voice sounded muffled from behind the mask. Rei had to agree with the shinobi. Running equalled with admitting one's guilt in the legal language. What she and Sasori were doing now was nothing short of digging a deeper hole for their charges. Why was she doing this, again?

With a flick of his wrist, Sasori knocked the last Anbu out. The man collapsed with a thud to the ground and Sasori recalled his puppets back to the scroll.

Someone she hadn't noticed before walked from under the shadows of the wall and towards them, slowly. Rei could swear she didn't see him before, but then she was really engrossed in the effort of making only defensive moves to notice anything around her.

It was Ebizo. The desert wind was tugging with his dark robe.

"Sasori, please," the old man croaked.

Sasori looked to him and suddenly Rei greedily observed their interaction. She realised she wanted to learn anything about this man who was apparently someone very important, yet she didn't truly know just how much. It felt like suddenly discovering the elephant in the room, and with a thunderous thump to that. Anything that would give her an edge in her current situation was welcome.

"Come back, Sasori." Ebizo shakily approached few more steps. "We will sort this out."

To Rei it looked as if Sasori wanted to say something, but was remaining silent. The old man was pouring all of his attention into the Puppet Master and she felt in her heart bad for Ebizo, as normally she saw him as a cryptic and closed-off man, but now the emotions were clearly etched on his wrinkled face. It was as if any blow from Sasori might collapse Ebizo, yet he put everything he had and stood strong.

Somehow, it seemed like such an intimate exchange that she almost felt embarrassed to witness this.

Sasori said nothing and turned away, walking into the desert.

Ebizo's shoulders sagged a fraction.

This is where she had her last chance to decide, Rei realised with a start. She could go back now. Be lawful. Tell she had really nothing to do with Sasori, that she had no idea what he was doing during the night, except for a few minutes' period. She eyed the towering thick walls of Sunagakure. They felt foreboding and oppressive and the sudden tremble helped her to finalise her decision. No. No way they would believe her this easily. Once she crossed them back, to get out soon would be nigh to impossible. Her choice was between a spartan, dirty holding cell and the complete unknown of where this man would take her, or abandon her, or anything.

She saw in her mind's eye the new skies she would see.

This was pure madness.

And decided she would rather sleep under an unknown sky that not see it at all.

"Look after him, Rei-chan." Ebizo said gently with his gravelly, ancient voice as Rei was turning away and she snapped back to him. The old man only smiled.

_The… what?_

Adjusting her travel pack, she joined Sasori and they stepped into the desert, leaving Sunagakure behind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: Spannungsbogen  
**Author**: Novemberries  
**Beta-ed (partially)**: NiwaHikari  
**Characters/Pairing**: Sasori and Akimori Rei (OC)  
**Genre**: Drama/Romance/Mystery  
**Word Count**: 9969  
**Raiting**: T (subject to change)  
**Disclaimer**: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. No money is being made from this story.  
**Completed on**: 29SEP2019  
**Published on**: 15OCT2019  
**Chapter Last Revised on**: 02OCT2019

* * *

[ CHAPTER 3 ] **ADUANTAS**

_The word __aduantas__ ("ah-dWON-tes") describes that feeling of unease or anxiety caused by being somewhere new, or by being surrounded by people you don't know. It's derived from __aduaine__, the Irish word for "strangeness" or "unfamiliarity."_

* * *

Rei took back her words about unknown skies. She bit them by their hind legs, ripped off and spit like a grime. After a mere few hours of marching and sprinting under the full desert sun she would gladly let the police officers escort her to a dark and cold holding cell. She would kiss the stone floor and lay there prostrate, letting the rock absorb the heat that the sun had irradiated into her.

Sasori led them straight south. As far as she was familiar with the Wind Country geography, that was a counter-intuitive move, as south was more desert, more sun, more sand, more _I just opened my oven let's breathe it_ air. He apparently had a plan, but to the details of which Rei was not yet privy. She would need to know at some point. The rush of the escape was still there, but steadily cooling down and certainly not strong enough to blind her into trusting him.

Not in this sun. This – this was nothing compared to the comfortable trek one usually took when visiting Sunagakure.

This was the open desert.

This was something vastly more powerful.

The sun beating down on her head was an oppressive force in itself. A force of nature given form and shape. Its touch was so scalding hot that Rei thought she was being boiled alive. She unzipped her vest, but it helped little. She would not discard it, though. Who knew where she would be forced to travel yet.

At first they ran through a rather solid terrain, a hard rock surface with coarse sand and gravel strewn as far as the eye could reach, dearth of any vegetation. It was a downright depressing landscape, until they reached giant formations of weathered granite and sandstone, with its surface porous and chipped and uneven. As they glided among them, Rei momentarily forgot where she was, struck amazed by the beige-brown rocks towering over her and highlighting the striking blue colour of the sky. Amidst paying attention to her breathing and monitoring her stamina, she looked up, stunned by those monumental desert creations of exotic, alien shapes that no artist could replicate. She'd never seen something like this, not even in the mountains of the Lightning Country. She'd made a mental note to go once further north to those mountains, if time allowed, as she realised now she'd heard once there were ubiquitous climbing rocks there.

…And then she remembered where she was and what she was doing. Biting her lip, she looked to this man she has barely met yesterday, of whom she had no idea, no idea about his thoughts.

They rarely ever stopped – as even Rei was able to sense a faint trace of pursuit on their heels. Who would pursue them in such weather? It was all crazy… In a way she was glad that she and Sasori ran full speed, because every time they halted to listen and adjust their course or to catch a sip of water, the still, blazing air around Rei almost suffocated her. She looked to Sasori as if he was an alien creature, because so far she had yet to see a drop of sweat on his face. She observed him when they stopped under the shade of one of the giant, oddly shaped boulders which provided a little reprieve from the sun's cheeks were reddened and steaming and she was sure freckles were already forming all around, yet Sasori's visage was composed, smooth. He took out his water sack and Rei took this moment to watch him closer, as he uncorked the flask, brought it up to his mouth and swallowed slowly. She couldn't comprehend how someone so cold and arrogant to the point of repelling could be so perfectly chiselled. His colours seemed to blend in flawlessly with the desert: his clothes were the shade of the black shadow they now sat under, his hair were dusty-red like a rock rich in iron splashed with blood, his skin was a warm, pale-golden beige of the sands underneath their feet and his eyes resembled precious dark amber or muted hazel, depending on the light.

If he noticed her visual ministrations, he gave no outward indication.

Not that she was interested. Heavens forbid.

"Let's go," was all Sasori said and they resumed their run.

It was just sand, the sky and Sasori. And her thoughts. And the heat.

"Where are we going?" She asked when they stopped again under a stone arch for a sip of water, wiping off the sweat from her forehead. Ah, there it was. A tiny drop of sweat running down his temple from under his red hair. So he was a human after all.

"You'll see when we get there," Sasori replied with a tone indicating that he would speak no more of this. A quite mean human.

Something snapped inside Rei, but she controlled her emotions before she spoke. "Is there any reason you took me along here?" she asked, careful not to let the bite to show in her voice.

Sasori calmly corked his water skin and attached it back to his belt, and only then raised his head to look at her. By that point, she was almost boiling inside from being ignored.

But no answer came from Sasori.

He looked at her as if he was wondering the same thing and didn't have an answer.

By now she had realised that the Puppet Master wasn't a much forthcoming person, yet she didn't know just how easily he was able to foil her attempts to fish any information out. This wasn't how she had imagined their one-to-one, awaited chit chat, but Rei knew that being pushy would accomplish nothing with this type of humans. But it still didn't make it any easier for her to bear his behaviour. She breathed deeply as Sasori ordered an end to their stop and headed out. No way he was going to see her being affected by his attitude. Besides, it was too precarious of a situation for any attitude. One needed to focus on survival.

She packed back her water sack as well; her water was almost gone. Following in Sasori's steps, she swallowed a lump in her dry throat and wondered briefly if she could bring forth any reasonable amount of water with her jutsu. Skilled as Rei was, as this was her primary chakra nature, inherited from a strong descendant, if she were to believe the tales, she wondered how much energy conjuring up the water in the middle of the desert would consume. Best to save her forces for now, she reasoned, falling into a steady run behind the her travel partner.

Rei's head felt like exploding in an infinite loop when she tried to think of any logical reason why she was here. Her travel buddy ran steadily and gracefully in some distance in front of her, his black cloak billowing with the motion and the wind, as she was burning a hole in his back with her gaze. This Sasori guy all but treated her like a spare wheel after they had stepped into the desert. So why did he take her with him at all? Was there anything that she could contribute to? Was she so useless to him? Or maybe he was thinking of some mean way to get rid of her – or harm her. True, she didn't feel any immediate danger, except for the occasional stings of arrogance, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was hanging in the air. Something waiting to fall upon them. Or maybe just upon her. Or just upon him, for being a jerk to her. It reminded her of this one mission with Kakashi where all the planning for a mission had fallen into her lap, because the copy nin found himself unable to. Kakashi, usually a picture of extreme reason and discipline during missions and despite being notoriously late, always exercising professionalism, believed "just winging it" would be a better approach than careful planning. Was it after he'd gotten this terrible hangover after a heavy drinking session with Asuma and old Nara? Not relevant. The point was, he would hear no word of her meticulously constructed plans and from the moment they crossed Konoha gates, Rei was plagued with a bad feeling. It had been pooling in her stomach until they were finally ambushed on the road, Kakashi, too hangovered to be cautious ("Rei-chan, you're working yourself up for no reason. This is another C-ranked mission. In fact, I'm sure you'd be fabulous finishing it without me. Can you give me one of your water sacks before you go, please?"), her, too worked up to keep the vigil on their surroundings. She had to admit though that nothing could cure Kakashi's hangover like a quick sparring session with deadly weapons flying all over their heads.

She was feeling exactly the same sense of heavy foreboding like then. Seemingly nothing indicated that something might go awry. Yet it was possible that it would. Even not taking into account the fact that they were on the run and running into trouble was a given.

No. It was deeper. More serious. Rei couldn't explain it with words, but would not deny her shinobi sense, something that had saved her on so many occasions.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Sasori slowed down to a march. Rei followed his suit, internally glad for the breather, even though they had been resting just a moment ago. Then, he stopped and as she looked over him, she noticed his body tensed and he was as if ready to pull out a weapon. Senses on alarm, Rei looked around them, but except for blurry mirages of hot air over the rocky ground, she saw nothing.

"What's going on?" She asked him quietly.

"Prepare for a fight," Sasori replied with his low voice.

"The pursuit?" Rei was sure they'd put a sensible distance between them with the insane run through the desert they made.

"No," was all he said.

If Sasori wanted to add any more explanation, she'd never know, because at that moment a fountain of sand and gravel erupted to their left and before it touched the ground, a dark shape was already jumping at them.

Rei leapt back and Sasori had already pulled out one of his puppets. He was fast. She reached for the kunai in her holster and noticed then that what was charging at her was no human.

It was a giant lizard, it's moving chitin pincers almost half of its entire size. Those pincers reminded Rei of a noble crayfish, but taking into account the size, no way those two creatures could be related.

Her mouth dry, she countered the lizard's chitin swing with her kunai. The impact reverberated through her entire arm up to her shoulder. Holy shit. Holy freaking shit. Kankuro had never ever said anything about something like this dwelling in the desert. Jumping further back, Rei noticed with a shudder more of them erupting from under the ground. It seemed like they stumbled on an entire family and were becoming surrounded. She was sure she had never heard or read about such creature lurking in the desert. Way for Suna to keep its secrets.

In front of her, Sasori was deftly making his puppet dance. Compared to fighting the Anbu guards, she noticed the weapons were now on display. What was more, each blade and sting the puppets dealt were covered with a purple poison that was proving effective in paralysing the creatures. What a poison. She wouldn't want to be hit with it. But she'd better focus on her fight. When her kunai seemed to have no effect on the chitin – and her weapon was definitely not dull – Rei called forth a jutsu.

"Raiton: Chain Lightning!" Slamming her fist on the ground, she watched the electric arc jumping through the rocks and reaching the lizards' exterior shell.

Surprisingly, it worked like a charm. The creatures trembled and fell down, unmoving.

She made it to rise from the ground when suddenly something yanked her back by her vest. The momentum made her fall on her butt, but immediately she began scrambling back to her feet to counteract the pull from behind. This tug war was pointless. Rei quickly wrestled herself out of her vest and twirling, formed a seal.

"Raiton: Blitz Raze!"

Small lightnings rained upon the largest of the creatures she saw today, also in the process ripping her vest to shreds. The unfortunate fellow fell and didn't even twitch. _And there go my scrolls._

It made sense, though. If those somethings were dwelling in the earth, possibly affiliating with its energy, Rei's Lightning release was naturally the strongest against them.

Heart in her throat and breathing laboured, she looked around. The lizards were laying unmoving as they fell, but she would be glad to move as far away from them as possible.

"This seems to be all?" she half stated, half asked Sasori, hopeful. Desperate.

"For now, yes." He recalled his puppet into a scroll and secured it again on his belt, reaching with his arm behind his back. "The pursuit is catching up, we must run. Now." He looked over at her, as if assessing her fitness. Rei was sure she looked like hell and more.

She nodded, swallowing a heavy lump in her throat, even though she was beginning to feel dizzy. All of this sweat soaking her clothes, she internally wept for the moisture lost. She would gladly rinse her tunic and drink any drop, no matter how gross it would be. No, scratch that. No weeping. That was a loss of moisture, too.

But Sasori was yet to look frayed around the edges or even tired. He either was genetically predisposed to desert conditions or simply conditioned through many, many years spent on the desert.

Or, back to the initial theory. He was an alien. A very mean alien.

Seemingly satisfied with his perusal of her person, Sasori turned, apparently to assess the best direction. His prone, motionless figure stood almost serenely as the wind was fluttering his clothes. As if fighting a band of blood-thirsty giant lizards was another perfectly normal interlude.

Surely, the night would bring some rest, right? Rei squashed her exhaustion, her confusion, hopelessness and even the weeping for flowing water or any water.

And then they ran again.

-[-]-

A wall of rocks hallucinated before her in the distance. But when it didn't disappear as they ran, she realised they were slowly, but surely approaching the giant mountainous elevation. They had put a considerable distance between the creatures and them by now, but seeing this massive formation spiked adrenaline in her system again. Who knew what surprises awaited them. _Don't tell me we're going there._

Since she didn't have any better idea as to where to go, Rei had no choice but to follow Sasori.

She could go back to Suna. Such thought had crossed her mind. It was merely a day's run.

Gradually hard rocky surface was replaced by soft sands and it was increasingly difficult to sprint when their ankles kept being swallowed by the warm sand, so they slowed to a march. Rei took this opportunity to reach for one of her shinobi pills, chewing thoroughly through the bland, meaty ball. It tasted akin to cardboard, but this was no gourmet restaurant and she had to take the energy from somewhere. She was lucky to have the pills in her bag at all.

She thanked any god that could hear her for the choice of clothing she made this morning, for without this loose shirt and the shawl protecting her head she would perish. Sasori had the hood of his cloak up too, to absorb the worst of the sun. She swore the first thing she would do when they found shelter would be to shake out the sand from her shoes. Though her parched, burning throat rivalled strongly with its silent cry for water.

The sun was slowly travelling down to meet with the scorching surface of the horizon. It was also this morning that she'd taken a refreshing shower in the running water and sat in the comfort of the shade. It felt like reminiscing about the life of another person after the entire day of run through the desert, where her body felt dirty, clammy, her face drawn in from the dry, hot air and no prospect of civilisation in sight. Rei scratched her head and felt sand particles under her fingertips. It was sand everywhere. She was sure it was inside her underwear as well.

They reached the giant rock formation when the sun had already changed its colour to pinkish-orange, blending with the lavender haze over the horizon. It turned out it was in fact a canyon of sorts, with caves and nooks, winding like a labyrinth. Somehow, throughout this uniform landscape, Sasori had navigated them exactly to here. He knew his desert well.

Rei strained her senses, but could feel no living soul around them, however she couldn't be sure about the pursuit.

It was preposterous to chase two suspects this far into the desert. She was sure that no matter the accommodation to the desert conditions, the Suna shinobi suffered the heat as everyone. It was a loss of manpower. They weren't criminals and she didn't think such alleged crime justified the means with which they were being pursued. Well, she was sure about herself at least. And as for Sasori… Witnessing his razor-edge behaviour of a true professional and his loaded silence towards her solidified the notion of him being an exceptional shinobi – with a honed body and a sharp, honed mind. With such skills, it wasn't impossible for him to have a hidden agenda. To plot for some events to happen. He was without a doubt a mysterious fellow. Even a blind person could feel this eerie aura surrounding the Puppet Master.

"It seems like we've lost the pursuit," she said to Sasori.

"They had diverted east," came his clipped reply over his shoulder.

_Okay. _At least a reply.

Rei sighed internally. This was not how she had imagined being on the run. And then she snorted internally.

They stepped further into the rocks into a grey twilight, leaving the daylight behind. They were turning left and right with the pattern only Sasori seemed familiar with and the passage was narrowing as they walked, with the air growing a little cooler. A tremble of trepidation ran through Rei when she realised he could easily leave her here to die and to wither like a mummy. She would not find her way out of this maze easily.

"We'll stay here for a rest," he said when they stopped in a larger cave by a small cliff, with a nook in the wall nearby.

_Sounds like the chit chat time… Or not_, she added to herself after noticing Sasori's not very welcoming visage as he was looking around the cave. His face was giving off a subtle mix message of "what a troublesome mess" and "leave me alone".

But then something else caught her attention – the shy sound of a rushing water was like a caress to her ears.

Trying to control her motions, but still looking probably very unlady-like with the rush, Rei proceeded to unpack in search of every available water canteen, bottle, sack, anything to fill in with water. Screw the guy. Survival was of utmost importance.

Though she had to observe with interest as across her, Sasori pulled out a medium-sized scroll from his robes and kneeled, unrolling it on the uneven surface. He formed a seal and with a puff, an assortment of jugs and bottles appeared on the surface of the scroll. Resourceful bastard.

"You sure are prepared," murmured Rei.

Sasori didn't reply and didn't look up to her, but not discouraged, Rei packed her two bottles and a water sack and hoisting her backpack on her shoulder, walked up to him.

"Let me help you." Stagger your opponent with unexpected kindness.

She grabbed three corked jugs, fitting one under her arm, and without waiting for a reply from him, went over to the cliff. There, few spaces to the right was a steep rocky bank made of moist rocks with the moss and other vegetation growing in patches and she proceeded to carefully descend to the level of the stream, Sasori at her heels.

Upon seeing the clear, rushing stream the first thing Rei had to do was to splash her face with water. The cold liquid that soothed and cleansed her skin felt like absolute bliss and then she greedily drank few palms of water straight from the stream. She let the rushing liquid wash over her hand, the submerged stones cool and sleek to her touch. Never did she realise like now what a miracle the water was. Feeling Sasori's gaze on her she looked up, and sure, he was observing her with his amber eyes, their colour warm like a resin of ancient trees, yet his gaze aloof, unreadable, almost with a hint of cynicism. It looked as if he splashed himself with water too, for his face regained a healthy sheen.

Rei had no idea what to think of his behaviour or the atmosphere surrounding him. The best approach seemed silence. So in silence, they filled in the jugs, bottles and sack with water up to the brim. Sasori passed her smaller bottles which she loaded as much as she could to her backpack. At first, his gesture almost staggered her, but then she reasoned inside that this was the most reasonable thing to do. Not a gesture of kindness and cooperation. Just a rational thing.

All set, they stood up and climbed up with the aid of chakra to avoid slipping and unloaded their burden to the rocky floor by the cliff. Sasori set aside one jug and put the rest of his ceramic jugs and glass bottles onto the scroll again and sealed the contents back to the scroll. He then stood up with his broad back to her and apparently performed some sort of a seal. He stood there motionless with his head slightly bent down, so maybe it was some deep sensor jutsu. He had proven to be an adept at sensing the presence of others.

Whatever. Rei walked up to him, standing to his side. He had his palms formed in a tiger seal. "Will you tell me now where're we going?"

Reluctantly, Sasori lowered his hand and looked askance at her.

"South-west. A hideout." A reluctant answer.

"And then what?"

Crossing his arms, Sasori turned fully to face her. He'd taken off his travel cloak and without it, this up close, his posture seemed even more imposing and his height over her more pronounced. He definitely looked over thirty years of age, but had a youthful air around him, maybe in part for those soft, unruly red hair around his face. But Sasori's eyes were his most intimidating weapon. Rei felt a chill spreading in her stomach when she looked to those cold, penetrating eyes of his.

"And then we part ways."

_What?_

What was this guy's problem? Any hope Rei had of trying to understand him was shattered right there and then. She came close to even suspecting that he might have had some kind of mental illness. Who in their right mind would do this to another human? Almost work together in a tight situation and then toss away? Those honey eyes of his kept looking at her without any emotion whatsoever, and Rei was surprised he didn't drop dead, because she surely felt a strong killing intent right now. He didn't understand a thing, did he?

"So why did you even drag me here?" She was starting to lose it.

"You came with me on your own will." A serene answer backed up by iron logic. He spoke so softly that if it was a foreign language, his words could be considered a caress. Unfortunately, Rei understood what he had told her. Or rather – couldn't wrap her head around his words. She understood the meaning, but failed to process why he had said this.

He made to move past her, finishing the conversation, but Rei would have none of this. She grabbed him by the forearm and noted in the back of her mind how cold he was through his shirt. Fitting to his words and behaviour.

"You clearly like to be alone and do things alone. You didn't need me for anything. I repeat. Why help me out and lead me here?"

"I changed my mind," said Sasori emotionlessly.

This time she did snort. "About time."

Sasori tugged his arm free and walked past her so that they were standing with their backs facing.

"We'll reach the hideout tomorrow," he said in a neutral note, but Rei still felt as if speaking to her was paining him. "From there, you can easily go anywhere."

"How considerate of you. But maybe I'll leave now."

"Go on."

Rei couldn't believe what she was hearing. So the jerk basically planned to tell her tomorrow. Or maybe tomorrow he would change his mind to something else yet. She boiled with the desire to scream and to kick something really hard. Most desirably, him.

Taking deep breaths, Rei thought. So speaking was of no use. She did not possess a secret key to unlock more dialogue options with him, apparently. The pursuit was on. If she returned, holding cell was hers. If she ran, she would be further away from Suna and have twice the distance to surmount. The other options? The guy would not have her as her travel partner, and a partner in alleged crime, so counting on him was out of the question. She was basically on her own. Quickly scanning the map of the Land of Wind in her head, Rei realised that there might have been some truth to Sasori's words. If she calculated correctly, his hideout or anything could be located pretty close to a tract leading to the Wind Capital. There, she could hop on a boat, bypassing Suna. Seemed like a plan.

She looked over to him. In the meantime, Sasori had sat cross-legged on the ground and was examining one of his puppets, an assortment of tools splayed nearby.

The silence between them was palpable and heavy.

She felt the exhaustion catching up, but somehow, they needed to survive the night. "I'll take the first watch," Rei offered, reasoning that now was better than later, as she still could keep herself in an upright position.

"Not a good idea," Sasori replied flatly without lifting his gaze from the thin blade he had slid from the inside of the puppet's arm. He slid the blade back into the wooden arm after examining it. "You're more tired than I am and you're not used to the desert, you will miss the signs. Go to sleep."

Rei felt the frustration viscerally, as a rough sponge in her jellies that was impossible to cough up. The guy was determined to block her and nothing she said or did was breaking through his defences.

She settled for also sitting cross-legged on the ground and watched him there with sharp eyes, observing. She was analysing his deft hands and long fingers that unscrewed each finger of the puppet to shake out the sand. His unruly mane of red hair. His broad shoulders of a shinobi. His royally sculpted face with a proud chin and a sharp nose, a face that was marred by coldness, if not a shadow of cruelty. Sasori finally looked up, as if only now noticing her careful analysis of his person and the look in his eyes added to the ice in Rei's stomach. What was happening in the mind of this man?

"How does it feel to be forced to flee from your village?" At this point she didn't care whether she scored positive or negative points in his book. He was a jerk, but before they part, she would try to get to the bottom of this. Or at least to any trace as to what Sasori's motivations were. Any slip from him. Anything. She was ready to pick any scraps he would haphazardly throw.

Predictably, the answer didn't come. Rei wasn't giving up because of a daunting silence and attacked again. "Did you kill this child?"

Silence.

He wasn't even looking at her, turned sideways from her, oiling the joints of the puppet. As if her speaking consolidated his resolve into blocking out from his sphere Rei's entire person – her words, her presence.

"You're a mean bastard." She said in a low voice to the side of his head. Sasori's movements halted for a fraction of a second, but then he resumed what he was doing.

"It was stupid of me to try and defend you then," said Rei more to the wall than to Sasori, thinking of the ineffable moment when she mysteriously felt prompted to speak up for him in Gaara's office. Honestly, what was she thinking? Apparently she was not.

"Yes. It was." His response startled her and she snapped her eyes back to him. He paused what he was doing and looked to her, as if appraising the extent of her stupidity.

"That's what I'm saying." Rei bore her eyes into his forehead covered by red hair. "Ridiculous."

"Are you done talking?" Sasori's low voice gained an edge.

"No, I'm not." Rei's eyes captures his and she held his gaze unflinching. "I think you maybe didn't kill the kid, but it was very convenient. You all but fled Suna as if it was what you'd wanted to do all along."

Sasori put the parts of the puppet down and focused on her. Did she hit a sensitive part? She made this up in a split second of inspiration, but apparently her words had rung a bell. _Go go Rei!_

"This murder was staged," she continued. "I didn't kill this student, and you know this. It's a classic case. They would get to the bottom of this eventually. (_There was more trust for Suna's justice system in her words than she felt inside, but she would play the devil's advocate now_.) Why didn't you trust in your Village?" Sasori sat unmoving and his eyes grew darker as she spoke. "You're a high ranking official. They couldn't just lock you up in a cell on a mere suspicion."

Sasori turned to face her entirely. "Did they only teach you in your Konoha to speak of things you have no idea about?" his voice was calm, but Rei felt a rising edge to his words. Nevertheless, she held her back straight.

"Did they only teach you in your Suna how to treat people like trash?"

"If what I'm doing makes you feel like trash then your sheltered life in Konoha has all but spoiled you." To her, Sasori was still calm. Maybe only bluffing to rile her up. She wanted to anger him, to get any sort of reaction from him, but most desirably, not to the point of Sasori attacking her.

"I can't imagine how sad it must be when you can't trust your Village," she said with a level voice, not breaking eye contact with him.

"I doubt you know anything about Suna."

"You're right. And I don't care." It was a lie. She did care. And did want to find out more. But he won't be learning about her wants or desires, because she felt like talking to a complete stranger. This man's wall was impossible to break through. He kept feeding her bullshit, cold shoulder and sarcasm.

"You don't know anything about the desert, so it would be best for you to run back to Suna," he said emotionlessly, returning to unscrewing his puppet, dismissing her again.

Rei fought to tame the rising bile of anger in her throat. _This conceited…_

She knew though when to lose a battle to win a war. And this was most definitely not the time and place to waste her energy. She needed to regenerate. She needed all the support she could get from her body and her mind.

"All right. Wake me up then." Leaving the first watch to him, Rei stood up and moved to where she had left her belongings. But before she could make any step, she heard a swish and a kunai blazed in front of her nose, embedding itself in the wall and blocking her path. She looked aside to him, trying to calm down her startled heart. Sasori was honing his puppet and wasn't even looking at her. Whether on purpose or fired accidentally from a puppet mechanism, she refused to guess. Rei grabbed the kunai's hand and effortlessly pulled it out of the rock, dropping it with a clang to the stone floor with more force than necessary. Without sparing another glance at her accidental travel partner, she walked as far away from him as she could in this tiny space and tried to find the most comfortable spot on the hard ground.

Despite the exhaustion, sleep would probably be hard to find.

-[-]-

Shinobi Rule Number One: A shinobi must always show allegiance to their Kage. He must not value himself, but rather adhere to the village's ideals. _Foster the alliance between Konoha and Suna. _

Shinobi Rule Number Two: A shinobi must always put the mission first, and his village before him. _Allow yourself to be put into a holding cell to defuse the strife between villages. _

Shinobi Rule Number Three: A shinobi must always keep his mind and body in the best health. His mind is the weapon that pierces through darkness and illusions. His body is a weapon that strikes and endures, carrying out what his mind conceives. His mind and body are weapons that must be constantly honed. An unprepared shinobi meets death fast. _Water. Sleep._

Shinobi Rule Number Five: Turn your weakness into strength. _Stop thinking of this man of no village. He's a mean bastard. A mean bastard._

Shinobi Rule Number Six: A shinobi never questions his commander. _I am alone here._

Shinobi Rule Number Seven: Hesitation is death. _Seek shadow and secure the water. No one will do this for me._

Shinobi Rule Number Eight (Kakashi's Rule): A shinobi must look underneath the underneath. _Look into this scorpion's eyes and try to learn what his true motivation is._

Shinobi Rule Number Nine: A Shinobi should be able to prevail without fighting, only if there is no other choice but to do so. _Love and peace. Poison and death._

Something interrupted Rei's rehearsal of the Shinobi Code. She emerged from the light half-slumber to a palpable tension in the air. And knew something was going on. Sasori was standing by the cliff, his dark form still and listening. She quickly scrambled to a standing position.

"Someone's coming," he said.

Rei took this as a cue to pack her things in a flash. Forget the water. She only blessed her cautiousness and her light sleep for sensing this moment and rising in time.

They were ready in forty seconds. Sasori observed her while putting his cloak onto his shoulders and seeing her ready, began leading them to another exit than they had come here with. If it surprised her that he would wait for her at all, she gave no outward indication of this.

"You're a master sensor. How come you haven't sensed them?" Rei wondered out loud as they jumped over the rocky gap with the stream trickling below. So he disregarded her. All right. There was no risk of him accidentally answering, right?

"They've hidden from my sensors," he replied dismissively.

_Whoa, an answer._

"Is this someone you might know?"

"I know who this person is."

_Ah. _

"If you know who this is, why are we running?"

Again, he turned left, right, jumped to a higher shelf into a hidden passage, in such a flash of combinations that would make a lesser person dizzy. He must know those rocks like the back of his hand. Was it normal to Sunagakure shinobi to wander and camp here? They had to patrol the country, after all. Rei couldn't fathom how one would choose to station here, or how even all of this operated at all. Who wandered to the desert?

"To get to a higher ground." Sasori sounded almost irritated, as if he was explaining things to a particularly dim child.

_He points out I'm a noob when it comes to the desert ways and then cries when I don't know stuff. Freaking bullshit._

They found themselves in the open relatively quickly, standing atop a stone ledge. The night was windy, cold and clear. Full moon had shown its chubby face this night, so it wasn't pitch black. Enough light to see that the landscape consisted of sand dunes and few boulders strewn across its surface.

Rei felt the tension intensify. In silence, she strained her eyes to sift through the dark corners, trying to catch a glimpse of the intruder. And then she realised with a startle that someone was standing in a close distance from the rocks, below on the soft sandy ground, unmoving.

Clearly waiting for them.

The stranger slowly approached them and she realised who it was.

"…Kankuro?" Rei said hoarsely, her eyes wide when she recognised the signature hood and warpaint over his face. Emotions swirled inside her with a force of a whirlwind. Could she go back home?

The Suna shinobi made a few steps in their direction. "Sasori, Rei… I beg you, come back," pleaded Kankuro with desperation. His voice was torn by the desert wind, she had to strain to hear him.

Before she could formulate any retort, any question, Sasori threw something at Kankuro. It was a scroll that he caught deftly.

"Those are your three favourite puppets," said her unwilling travel companion.

Kankuro looked at him like a broken person at loss of words, yet there was a shadow of a faint smile in the corner of his mouth.

"You're really not coming back."

Those words as if hit a hidden panel of a puppet and unhinged Sasori. It was a barely perceptible change, but spending with him the entire day straight, she was learning to become attuned to the slightest change in his behaviour, gestures, gait, where his eyes followed. So for Sasori to jump down into the soft sand and look Kankuro straight in the eye was a demonstration of at least commotion inside. Rei wasted no time following him to the ground as well. Up close, she noted that Kankuro looked no less travel worn than her with his eyes tired and his clothes dishevelled. After all, he had crossed the same scorching path as them.

"What for should I return?" Sasori delivered coldly to him.

"Gaara will move heaven and earth to prove your innocence," replied Kankuro with voice so delicate it wouldn't crush a petal. He looked at the Puppet Master only.

"It's too late. I've given them enough chances."

"Gaara is on your side." Said Kankuro with a stronger voice. "The Council is commencing as we speak."

"Good luck." Sasori didn't sound in the least invested in what Kankuro was saying.

"You… You wanted to leave Suna, didn't you?"

Rei observed them stunned, with a strong inkling that those two were speaking not only about the recent events and the murder accusations. Especially when Kankuro told Sasori exactly the same thing that she had suspected him of. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Perhaps. It doesn't matter now."

"What about your work? Come back… And take care of it."

"Don't you worry about it."

"Sasori-shishou, you are irreplaceable. You have to return."

To this Sasori replied nothing. Wind was mussing with his rust-red hair. Rei was reminded of the same silence that followed Ebizo's question when they were leaving Suna.

Then, Sasori's voice was heard, so low, that she had to strain to hear it. So full of bite that she almost trembled. "If what they've been doing with my work for the past fifteen years is how they plan to do it now, then don't bother, Kankuro, and run back home."

"Kankuro, what is really going on here?" Rei finally spoke, pleading, making a step towards Kankuro. "Please."

He looked to her and his eyes told her that he maybe wanted to tell her, but it was as if a magical contract was binding his mouth.

"Kankuro, for kami's sake, speak up. I'm not going to prison for innocence."

He still said nothing, casting a glance at Sasori.

She sucked a breath, irritated. Damn them. With Kankuro unwilling to divulge any concrete information and Sasori purposefully keeping her in the dark, Rei felt like screaming to heavens and running away on her own, right where she stood. To hell with this all. The truth was somewhere deep in the devil's arse and she had no access to it.

Despite the claims she made last night and Kankuro's beckoning, she wasn't so sure about the outcome of the investigation. In politics many things could be twisted and sometimes, not even Hokage's power could stop the unjust sentence. Especially when there was something shady involved. And now even Kankuro, someone she though she knew pretty well and could consider an ally, wasn't really supporting her in her time of need.

She'd had enough of truths hidden and unspoken.

"To hell with the two of you." Rei turned on her heel, intending to march anywhere that would be far away from them.

"Rei, please, just come back with me." Kankuro grabbed her by the arm, making her stop and turn to him. She twisted her arm from his grab and looked angrily at him.

"To a holding cell? For nothing?" She crossed her arms. "You two are hiding something. Do you expect me to just listen to you? Trust you? You won't trust me, then why should I give any credit to what _you_ say? Tell me what is really going on here."

"I… I can't." This time, Kankuro sounded broken.

"If you can't, then the matter is simple. Keep your secrets. I'm out of here."

"Those are not my secrets to divulge. Rei, please, come back. We'll do everything to sort this out."

"Sort what out exactly? What happened that night?"

Kankuro looked almost on the verge of tears and this time, she took small pity on him. No matter what the truth was, this certainly was a difficult situation, one causing strong emotions. In both Kankuro… And apparently in Sasori as well.

But this was her freedom to defend. Kankuro might have had run here to them. But the fact was that in the time of need, Suna all but wanted to put her in a holding cell. This was not what allies were. But the broken look on Kankuro's face could not have been feigned… And despite how confusing their talk was, Rei recognised that taking a chance that was being offered would be the most reasonable choice.

And then Rei noticed something. There, by Kankuro's belt, a medium sized scroll with an orange rim. Could it be…?

"Wait… Is that a scroll of sealing?" she asked Kankuro, mortified. He opened his mouth to speak and made a step towards her, but Rei put her hands up and shouted. "Stay away! I know what this scroll does. Just stay away!"

"I'm wasting time here," announced Sasori and walked past her and Kankuro.

_Wonderful… And now he throws a temper tantrum. _

Another moment of destiny. Sasori, closed-off, cold, impossible to reach, not really caring about her. Kankuro, who came here all this way just for them, to bring them back, but who had brought nothing but promises. And promises would not guarantee her freedom. Not to mention that scroll of sealing that she saw in use only by the elite Anbu on the most troublesome bounty. Would he really use it on her? She thought hard on who was an ally in this mess.

"I won't go to a cell for nothing," Rei said to Kankuro as she followed in Sasori's steps, leaving Kazekage's brother alone in the sandy wind.

Maybe it was stupid. But she won't give away her freedom.

-[-]-

So they ran again. It was still dark and with only the starlight, Rei had to depend on Sasori's moving silhouette to guide her way. It might have been the headwind and sand particles, but she felt her eyes stinging. Together with her chest tightening.

Because after they had merely passed through the boulder field, Rei felt it in her insides that it was a mistake.

"You should have went with him," said to her Sasori, when they were crossing a rock canyon.

A punch to her gut. He was obviously right. Safe passage home was an arm's reach away. She left Kankuro to travel back alone through this scorching minefield of a desert. She could have run up to Suna with him and run away just before they would reach the gates. He surely packed the scroll only for defence on the desert. It was so obvious now. Why was she letting her emotions rule her? She was a kunoichi. This situation was a test of all of her abilities, the pinnacle of her experience. And she was failing it terribly.

Throughout this encounter with Kankuro, instead of answers, she'd got more questions, but it didn't justify her choice. _Stupid_. Was it not too late to turn back now? She had run with this man, because she believed it would be a more merciful fate than a certain dungeon. But now she wasn't so sure anymore. Scratch that. She thought she was demented. What had propelled her then to choose Sasori, about whom she knew nothing, over Suna's help? From what she'd gathered so far, he wasn't the greatest fan of her Village and despite allowing her to tag along, at least until they would reach his hideout, for reasons even he was not able to voice, she felt from him a degree of animosity directed towards her. How could she have been this blind as to not feel this sooner? Their interaction from earlier tonight and what she had heard right now weighed heavily in her heart. This was a total mess. Had her kunoichi instincts been so deadly wrong?

At home, everyone was her ally. No one would believe her guilty, they'd surely find the truth, she'd have Kakashi's and Gaara's backup and everything would be alright. Everything would work out. _Stupid, so stupid_. Why, why had she chosen to run? Now, she needed to decide quickly, because who knows what other crap would emerge later. Run back to Kankuro or find her way out of desert on her own? _I just want to go home._

She'd find her way easily. They were only two days' running from Suna. Screw that she would be doing exactly what Sasori mocked her to do. As if she cared about his opinion. This was her life she now needed to save. She only needed to run straight North and she'd be home. Screw giant, biting lizards. She could do this.

_I. Can. Do. This._

Adrenaline rushed to her limbs and Rei pivoted on her heel, attempting to turn sharply right. But fate had other ideas. A protruding rock caught her foot and she tripped, tumbling down to her side into soft sand. A crack resounding from her ankle and a pain shooting up her leg informed her that something went wrong there.

_Shit!_

Could this get any worse? If she thought herself fucked before… Now she had truly no words. Stinging tears gathered under her eyelids. She looked up and saw that Sasori had stopped and was observing the spectacle. Now she really was a dead weight and wouldn't be surprised if he abandoned her right where she sat splayed on the sand. _Fine, just go away._

Rei experimentally moved her leg and hissed. Well, fuck this. The slightest movement was sending needles of sharp pain through her ankle. Wiping away a stray tear, she quickly summoned the healing chakra and put her palm on her foot. And it was bad. As she scanned, she discovered a fractured bone and a torn ligament._ Shit…_ Very well, let's do it. Commencing the healing just as she was taught, Rei introduced the chakra into her body, also trying to calm down the nerves threatening to eat her bones alive. There shouldn't be anyone chasing them right now, so she should be safe for at least the time of the initial healing. In her peripheral vision she saw Sasori walking towards her, but she didn't count much on his help. She needed to think of a solution, fast, before the weather, the bandits or the freaky animals killed her, in case Sasori was just about to inform her he'd leave her here. _Do I even want his help?_

It happened in a matter of seconds.

She looked up and saw Sasori jolt to a sprint in her direction, as if charging into an attack. Her healing green chakra flickered out into a dim glow and Rei just stared at him, frozen like a desert mouse awaiting to be picked up by a diving vulture. She noted then two things happening simultaneously: Sasori plunging to the ground next to her and an acute sting in her upper left shoulder. It felt like a syringe shot with a blazing, numbing iron poke which instead of a medicine spread under her skin vicious, burning poison.

A scream died on Rei's open lips as she looked left to Sasori. She squeezed the sand with her hand, attempting to channel the pulsing pain out of her body and saw him holding a wriggling, fat-tailed scorpion. _Wow…_ _The heavens have abandoned me._ She almost laughed. Sasori scrutinized the scorpion and looked back at her, and in the dying glow of her green chakra his face looked distorted like that of a creepy mannequin, with its gaze cool and composed. Almost unimpressed.

"Try to stop the spread of the venom," he said curtly. Looking one more time at the scorpion, he squished it in its midsection and when it stopped moving, threw it far away from them. She could've sworn that the venomous fat tail also stung him in the hand, but… That surely would've…

Rei nodded, trembling. Was he assuming her that skilled? She only hoped she could rise to the occasion. Gathering her remaining conscious powers and trying to think over the pain from both her shoulder and her ankle, she remembered what Shizune had once told her. She'd never had a chance to practice it before, but now seemed a perfect time. Fighting against the fog literally taking away her cognitive powers as the seconds ticked, Rei summoned her chakra one more time and put her hand near her left shoulder.

Next to her, Sasori was already unrolling a scroll while speaking to her. "A fat-tail scorpion is one of the most toxic ones. You have six-seven hours left."

Rei half-registered his words, focused on locating with her chakra the venom spreading under her skin and into her capillaries; the flow was fast and erratic. She tried catching the venom tendrils and freezing it, not entirely sure she was succeeding or whether this would buy her any time.

Sasori summoned small bottles onto his scroll and with a steady hand sifted through them, using the glow of Rei's chakra to eye the contents closer.

"I've got no fat-tail antidote," he informed her impassively. "But I can give you a diastolic shot."

Sasori produced what she hoped was a sterile syringe. He filled it with the diastolic liquid and, holding her left arm, he rolled her sleeve up and tapped the soft skin at the bend of her elbow, feeling for the vein. Rei was aware of a needle sinking into her flesh and seconds later, it became easier to breathe, but all of her life was in fact reduced now to a dull, pounding ache in her ankle and a searing, crippling bite in her upper left shoulder. The latter was awfully close to the heart.

"I can't give you a painkiller," he was talking to her in his flat, low voice and she grabbed this voice, the lifeline to consciousness. "If you stop feeling the pain, it means you'll be dead within the next half an hour. You need to tell me if you no longer feel the pain. Do you understand me?"

_Just let me die here and go away._

"Y-yes…" She was delirious by now, a tremble coming from deep within the core of her body, her vision blurry. She'd bandaged the sting with chakra and hopefully frozen the toxin molecules in their tracks, but couldn't be sure about the effectiveness of this all. She was no Shizune or Sakura to succeed at such a complicated procedure under pain, half-conscious. She was doing it for the first time.

_Never to become a true medic._

Somewhere in the depths of her mind, Konoha's tall, green trees swayed gently under the cool breeze.

-[-]-

Sasori watched as the green glow of Rei's chakra died away and seconds later, her eyes fluttered shut. She swayed and he caught her, easing her to the ground. She was light for a kunoichi, he noted in the back of his head. Dark thoughts filled him as he unzipped Rei's shirt to push it down her arm and assess the wound. Not because of her state, but because all of this was truly a mess. The scorpion bite was an icing on the cake. Even in the almost pitch blackness with only the moon to provide any light the sting clearly looked serious, festering quick. He pushed Rei's shirt back to its place and then quickly sealed the bottles back into his scroll, securing it on his belt.

There was only one thing that could save this kunoichi right now. But did he even want to save her? Things would become so much easier if he just left her here. Nature would take care of her and he would be weighed down no more. His body kept reacting with saving her and it was becoming burdensome.

He took in her motionless form, appearing to all eyes just sleeping, but in fact battling an internal fight with death itself. Humans were so fragile it hurt. It was a disgrace.

Sasori marvelled how through a sheer coincidence this girl's life had become a disaster in less than a day. How old was she? Twenty four, he recalled from the personal file on her. He would be glad to see her go back to Suna and leave him to his own devices, as the travel with her up to this point was rattling on his nerves, but when he spotted that scorpion on the ground, readying itself for an attack – his body responded like on instinct. He wanted to be rid of her. But he wouldn't be glad to see her die on him, he realised.

But survival and continuation of his plans were a priority. What would the kunoichi be was nothing short of a burden. Was there any way she would be useful? Sasori had his doubts.

The sand ticked and he thought.

There was perhaps a way how this incident could benefit his research.

Sasori hadn't been planning on showing her his truth and the notion consolidated into a strong dislike of the idea of including Rei in the tiny circle of people who knew what was he really doing. He looked at her heaving chest, breaths shallow and broken. If he left her on this sand, her end would be sealed. But if he took her with him, the kunoichi could receive a crash course on his truth – and actually have the honours of being the very first test subject. It was unprecedented. He had never done something like this before. But she was dying anyway. Scientific excitation bubbled gently under his skin. Maybe there was a silver lining to this.

Sasori wasn't sure whether he would do it during the day. But cool air of the night was their ally. He could walk faster, even encumbered. Depending on how quickly the venom reached her bloodstream, she could have even four hours before it attacked the heart muscle.

It had been the choice of his curiosity to join yesterday for the chuunin examination. To observe this kunoichi. Had he not joined, perhaps they would not find themselves together now. Had he been less impulsive, he would never include her in his escape plan and long by now be at his hideout. Another reason why her presence irritated him the way he could not explain.

But it couldn't be changed. It was a total fuckup of his plans, but nothing could be changed at this moment. And he was going to make the best use of what he had.

Sasori hoisted Rei's limp body on his back, secured his hold and marched south-west.

-[-]-

Gaara was waiting for him at the outskirts of Sunagakure's walls. The young Kazekage narrowed his eyes, watching his brother trot up to him through soft sands. Kankuro stopped few feet in front of Gaara.

"I told you it would be pointless." The early morning wind carried Gaara's words to Kankuro's worried heart.

"I had to try."

"Today I will put his and Rei's name in the bingo book."

Kankuro felt his throat constrict.

"Brother… please."

"This is a matter of no discussion," Gaara spoke in his quiet, yet unyielding voice. "As a Kazekage I cannot weigh the life of one man over the well-being of the whole nation."

"Do you really feel that way?"

Gaara was silent for a while.

"After all he had done for this country…" Kankuro continued. "If you scorn him now, he will move yet further away from us. I believe he was right and I wish I went with him."

'Kankuro." Gaara's warning tone.

"Look at us!" The puppet master's voice rose and he threw his arms apart. "Here we are, sitting on a treasure which Sasori has single-handedly solved, made palatable and presented to us on a silver plate, yet no one, no one is willing to take the risk and give Suna a chance."

"Don't oversimplify things."

"Don't make them complicated. Don't sound like the rest of them. We have been in the back for too long. We are letting the old ways slowly bury us in sand."

Gaara scratched his temple.

"Look what happened." Kankuro was fuelling his own fire. "He's been driven away. Taken away from us. Where will he go now? Maybe somewhere where he'll be welcomed? We all watched how he's been slowly losing it and now what?! I wouldn't be surprised if he betrayed Suna because of all of you!"

Gaara's hand on his shoulder stopped the deluge of words and Kankuro realized tears were blurring his vision. He could no longer look at Gaara, so he closed his eyes. Fresh tears flowed from under his eyelids.

"Kankuro." Gaara slowly embraced his brother and the older shinobi let the tears flow and soak the Kazekage's garb as he clutched Gaara like a life straw.

"I can't lose him…"


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Spannungsbogen  
Author: Novemberries  
Characters/Pairing: Sasori and Akimori Rei (OC)  
Genre: Drama/Romance/Mystery  
Word Count: 8140  
Raiting: T (M for later chapters)  
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. No money is being made from this story.  
Completed on: 29SEP2019  
Published on: 29OCT2019  
Chapter Last Revised on: 29OCT2019

A/N Last chapter before NaNoWriMo. See you all in December!

* * *

[ CHAPTER 4 ] **인연**

_I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when my fear is gone I will turn and face fear's path, and only I will remain._

* * *

Spice.

An illegal substance the existence of which most of shinobi world had forgotten about.

It wasn't really a drug, but because of its extremely powerful and mostly unknown properties its use had been banned by all nations a very long time ago. Such a long time ago it was that most history scrolls mentioning it were turning to dust and the spice itself slowly was becoming a mere legend.

The curious thing was that Suna was in possession of almost all known spice deposits and because of this, it had created a special task force to deal with raiders and mercenaries who scouted the desert to obtain the precious substance. Well, the desert took care of some of them. But some of them survived and escaped with a lush bounty. This is where Sasori came in.

This special task force that took care of the spice invaders was the most guarded secret of Sunagakure. So greatly guarded that one couldn't simply apply here. One could only be carefully selected and sworn to secrecy – or sworn to die, had he or she refused. It happened once or twice that a chosen shinobi had refused. Their names had been purged from history.

Sasori was the chief captain of the special task force, nursing this position for fifteen consecutive years.

Well, he certainly had been until yesterday.

Spice was the one thing that could neutralize the scorpion's venom right now. Sasori knew that the Hokage was one of the people capable of dealing with severe case of poisoning, as he had learnt of it first hand from the third great shinobi war, but obviously it was impossible to reach her now. And obviously, he would not go to such lengths for this kunoichi. It was enough that he was saving her life again.

Rei's body hugged his back and Sasori felt as she trembled, delirious.

"Wake up."

A grunted moan was his response.

"Do you feel the pain?"

"... Mh-mm..." she answered with a pained sigh.

Sasori would truly be faster and better in his own.

When the accusations fell upon him, he immediately knew what this meant and who was behind this. Murdering this kid who owed his soul only to gods not only resulted in what _they_ had exactly wanted – to get Sasori out of Suna – but also cleverly pointed to the last spice-related incident, where a rogue shinobi from Cloud had managed to escape with a spice loot and disappear in the forests of River Country. Like a stone thrown into the water. It had been the first successful raid for the spice this year.

The message was clear. _We've never stopped watching you. _Begrudgingly, he had to admit that the murder that was staged on his behalf was really a brilliant move, though it unnerved him that _they_ knew him so well, too. They knew he'd rather escape – free himself – than wait until his village understood.

Up to this point he had tried convincing the Council countless times about the benefits of using spice for medicinal reasons, backed up by the successes of his research, yet countless times they were against him. Gaara was the only person on the council who even considered looking closer at the potential benefits of mining the spice, the natural wealth of Sunagakure.

His jaw tensed as he remembered the stoic face of the late Third Kazekage and his sharp eyes appraising Sasori's research.

Sasori knew when to be patient and when it was time for things to rise to the right time and place, so that their full potential was fulfilled. He understood the old prejudices needed time to thaw, so he'd set up a longterm plan. And few sub-plans. He'd focused on his research and was ready to share his findings with the medical field any moment. Spice was money. Pure and undiluted. If only they were to formalize and broaden the reach of the task force, Sunagakure would be able to monopolize the spice trade and gold would flow. Awe and jealousy would flow. Sunagakure would become a medical giant, everyone vying for its secrets. And Sasori would be coordinating all of this, from the shadows, his research hindered by nothing.

He looked up. The Dragon constellation neared the horizon by fifteen degrees. One more hour and he should reach his hideout in the deep desert. The kunoichi better not die by then, he felt he already gave her a generous amount of his time and attention, so it better be worth it.

What he really despised was people who wasted his time. Yes, he could wait until his plan came into fruition, ripe and perfect. But he couldn't bear watching the same foolish faces every day. Faces that completely failed to comprehend him.

Sunagakure had truly exercised an obsolete system of cultivating young minds. What was done to him after his parents' deaths was impossible to justify, and to forgive. To this day he winced when thinking of his childhood. Sunagakure shinobi were supposed to be resourceful as a desert wind, finding their way into and out of every situation, and as tough as a hardened granite. No one helped him after his parents died. Everyone expected him to grow up overnight. Not even his so called guardian, Chiyo, was around to... It was something he could not forgive. They would never have his research, his skills, his time. It was over. He was a fool to waste so much time, waiting. Too soft. He had grown weak. He would never give Suna a chance again.

After the Third died ten years ago, any chance for a meaningful dialogue died with him. Had it been really ten years? Too long.

Had it been thirty five years?

His body was in excellent shape, thanks to the constant honing of himself like the weapon all shinobi were and thanks to the spice which infused his cells with pure energy. Spice gave him… Spice gave him power.

But it won't be like this forever. One day, his body will stop listening to him. It will crumble and decay.

Everything would be simpler if only he were a puppet. No ailments. No distractions. No feelings. No pain.

Endless endurance and stamina. He would be a perfect weapon.

He would be truly free.

But it wasn't a task for now. Right now, events were in motion and had been changed possibly irreversibly. And despite many factors that needed to be taken care of, even now Sasori could feel in his bones the true meaning of what he had done.

Each heavy step was strangely light. He was more free than yesterday. His heart was still heavy, but his spirit was free. His time was his only.

This kunoichi on his back was a wild card. Sasori praised himself for being able to maintain a perfect control over himself, and thus, as an extension, perfect control over his puppets. What a puppeteer would he be if he could not hold flawless reign over himself?

But she, this Rei, appeared out of the unknown void. She was not supposed to be here and while he'd foreseen the possibility of being framed in a similar fashion like now, there was no Konoha kunoichi in his plans and stratagems.

Yet something compelled him to take her. She could have run. Be a good Konoha kunoichi, scramble to her Hokage and wait until this plight would be resolved. Instead, she'd chosen to run with him. He saw this battle in her eyes, written all over her face. She'd chosen Sasori over her Village.

Still, he couldn't trust her and decided it would be better to leave her. Better for him, better for her. He couldn't risk being dragged down.

Fate had another ideas about this, however. And this is why Rei's limp form was hugging Sasori's back as he marched to his hideout.

"Sa-sasori…"

Sasori felt rather than heard that Rei started to say something. The sky was still black and the constellations told him it was between two and three in the morning. No civilian nor sailor dawn lighted the skies yet.

"It sto-stopped hurting…" she said in a hoarse whisper, her hot breath fanning his ear like a desert wind.

So that was it. She had half an hour left and there was still at least an hour to his hideout. His ankles were drowning in the soft sand, so running would not be easy. Sasori calculated the odds. Run to save her and use her as a test subject and thus spend his remaining stamina and chakra reserves, making himself vulnerable in case of a sudden attack – or to leave things be and forge on by himself.

He had given up long time ago on humans. Why should he make an exception now. He had no guarantee this Rei would not betray him, bite him back. Waste his time.

Chiyo's words from many, many years ago again echoed in his mind and refused to leave him, as absurd as they were.

"… Stupid old woman."

Sasori stopped still. In the middle of the ancient desert, under the pure, starry, eternal sky, his feet standing on soft sands. There was no one to hold him back now. He listened to the heartbeats of this human heart inside him, listened to the gentle wind ruffling his hair, to the stillness and silence emanating from the sky over his head.

The Scorpion has made up his heart.

He was not one to make things half-way. He had already travelled with the burden for so many kilometres. He would see this to the end. He would grant the kunoichi at least this, and then it would be on her lifeforce to decide whether to live or stop fighting.

Sasori swiftly laid down Rei on the sands and assessed the situation. He could see a sheen of sweat on her face glistening in the starlight; she looked like she had put one foot through the death's door already. So frail and fallible was the human body. It both fascinated and repulsed him. Securing Rei one more time, carefully – any movements were speeding up the venom flow through her body – he run with chakra on the surface of the sand, the fastest and the most chakra-consuming way to run through the desert that was trying to swallow you. He could feel how rapidly his chakra reserves were tumbling down.

After some time of full-speed run, Sasori recognized in the dark the silhouette of the rocks that marked the entrance to his hideout. He slowed to a walk, entered silently like a shadow and ran deeper into the caves. It was pitch black, but he knew every stone and grain of sand here by heart, so he ran without stopping. He could already smell the faint scent of cinnamon in the air and it made his heart beat faster. None of them fools even comprehended the true power and the beauty of the spice… But he would have no distractions now. All of the world was left outside the rocky entrance to his hideout.

No one was allowed into his sanctuary.

Making his way through the winding and bending corridor, Sasori reached the inner chamber of his hiding post. Disbanding the guarding seals with a seal of his left hand, he entered the chamber and the scent of cinnamon invaded his nostrils. Exhilarating.

He needed to put her somewhere. The only place that seemed fitting was the makeshift bed he would always use here. Dying or not, let her have at least that. So after putting Rei on a thin layer of blankets, Sasori prepared the space with precise movements. He lit several candles gathered on the ground, took off his plush coat and set his scrolls on the ground for a better movement. There was a rock chimney in the ceiling, but it let in little light during the night, so it was only the flickering golden light that was stressing out Rei's paleness. She was sweaty and looked weak, as if translucent, life clearly trickling away from her small form.

Sasori wasted no time to procure spice form his storage. He had run out of the distilled version from his experiments, so he had no choice but to feed her pure, undiluted spice. The curious things was he had never done this before and had no idea what the effects would be. But this is why he had brought her here. She had no chances of survival anyway, if unattended to.

He kneeled by her with a jar packed with spice. Rei's eyes were half-open and unseeing. She was probably not experiencing any pain, but must have felt a myriad of other unpleasant things. Possibly hallucinations. He swiftly unbuttoned her loose shirt and pushed it down her left shoulder, to reveal the sting. It stood out clearly from her pale skin, furious red, purple and black in the centre where the scorpion had stung.

Sasori gave her a one-over with his sensors. Even without putting much conscious effort, he was clearly seeing how her chakra's tone had changed. Closing his eyes, he focused to sense her deeper.

And her chakra was so different than when he had tested her the night of the storm in Suna. Now, it flailed in irregular shapes, distorted trajectories, jerky movements. It tried to concentrate in a healing effort around the wound, but without a direction from the healer, the effects were mediocre at best. The chakra had a sickly colour to it, too. Sasori saw though how her life forces were putting a fight against the venom. The kunoichi seemed strong.

But that was enough of assessment. The venom would not wait, so Sasori opened his eyes and resumed his task.

Holding the back of her head seemed the only way to feed her the spice. So Sasori put his hand just below the knot of Rei's ponytail and after he measured the blue, sparkling sandy-like substance with a spatula, he pushed it through her parched lips. She didn't resits. Then he poured water thought her mouth to flush it down. Some of the water trickled down Rei's cheek and neck, but her reflexes worked and she swallowed the mixture.

Sasori put the utensils down and observed, still supporting her head. At first it seemed as if nothing was happening. For one moment Sasori thought the girl would end up like one of his subordinates who overdosed spice. He was taking a considerable risk with the amount he gave her. But then he saw it with his inner sensors, a change in her chakra pattern. It flared as if wanting to erupt and then, maintaining high speed, started to form a torus shaped flow around her body.

And then it started.

Rei opened her eyes wider. They were still unseeing and she looked as if submerged in the world of her inner battle. And then her eyes gradually went from her natural teal into sapphire and then glowed a brilliant blue.

Sasori devoured what he saw. Because he had never seen anything like this. He knew spice was potent, powerful. But this went beyond his imaginings. Not once during his research had spice acted this powerfully, this… intuitively. The evidence of it being a life-saving force was obvious. Death lifted its feathery touch from Rei's face and the kunoichi was looking more alive and invigorated every second as her eyes continued to glow. He chanced a look and saw that the sting wound was no longer swollen and black. It was being healed as he looked.

He watched mesmerised Rei's flawless face that suddenly looked as if she had never been running exhausted to her limits an entire day through the desert, instead taking on a luminous, healthy sheen. Her eyes then stopped glowing, returning to their teal tint, but her face stayed aglow with otherworldly beauty.

It worked.

Her chakra had regained its original colour and its flow had stabilised, too, no longer weakly concentrated on the inflammation points, but instead rushing swiftly through her chakra nodes. The kunoichi was still not in the clear, but this could be a strong indication that she would return to normal. Her seven centres burned brightly, strong and healthy, feeding her organs with energy, with life. She looked… Eternal. For one moment, she embodied pure life itself and Sasori felt the spark of desire to turn her into a puppet, never to decay and always stay this beautiful.

-[-]-

Kakashi listened to everything Gaara had just said and couldn't stop from gaping at him – and his siblings and ever present Baki.

My, my. Sunagakure could keep secrets safely as an ancient tomb.

They were currently in the Kazegake's office. After both the chase and Kankuro returned empty-handed, Kakashi was called in. Right on time as well, as the worry for Rei was starting to get into him. Here, he was force-fed the brief history of the most mysterious and dangerous substance of the shinobi world and how much Suna had to do with it. It did answer some of his questions.

Who would have thought that for decades they were sitting on a treasure untold. It was indeed possible that all nations could forget about the existence of the spice. Sunagakure was founded approximately the same time as Konoha, if not earlier, and it was then that the secret task force was founded as well. The First Kazekage had decided that the spice was too dangerous to allow it to be freely roaming around and tasked his most trusted group of shinobi to discreetly eradicate any traces of knowledge regarding spice from any written records that was humanly possible. It was a pretty effective method. For the willing nothing is impossible. The awareness that something like spice could exist vanished. It survived only in myths and hearsays, as then and now alike, there were some that wished to sample and use the spice by themselves and the rumour of the effects of the use was spreading like pee in the water. Seemingly invisible to the naked eye, yet somewhere, someone, somehow always noticed something.

As to what were the exact properties of the spice or what Sasori's research entailed, Kakashi was not yet precisely aware. He suspected it had to be in part something dangerous for the First Kazekage to ban it completely and for no volunteers jumping in to get to know the spice until now.

"Kazekage-sama," Kakashi swiftly recovered and focused on the solution, not the problem. "Do you trust your shinobi?"

Gaara closed his eyes and thought hard. He then looked back to Kakashi with steel in his cerulean eyes.

"I have trusted him for as long as I knew him. I also know what a great pressure the council's rejection has been to Sasori, so him defecting like this…" Gaara inhaled deeply through his nostrils. "I no longer trust him implicitly."

"But Gaara!" cried Kankuro.

"Kankuro, be realistic." Gaara was the youngest of the siblings, but when he took on the mantle of the Kage, he became certainly the most down-to-earth of them, nomen-omen. "You may want to save him, but right now he sees us as enemies. I can be certain he has wide resources out there and is able to survive undetected. The question is whether he will try to harm Suna in the process."

"He would never…" Kankuro started, but Gaara cut him in mercilessly.

"Kankuro. I want to trust him. But I have to think of the Village first."

Kankuro bit his lip, and Temari shot him a sympathetic look. She looked as if she understood Gaara's reasoning as well, but it was the middle one of the siblings that was the most attached to the Puppet Master. Sasori was after all Kankuro's teacher of the puppet technique. In recent days, less so, as Kakashi had heard that Sasori of the Red Sand would be often busy elsewhere. It didn't change the fact that the student-teacher feelings ran strongly here. Kakashi could easily sympathise with those feelings.

"Kakashi." The copy ninja turned to Gaara to let the Kazekage know he had his undivided attention. "I'm obliged to put Rei's name in the bingo book as well."

"That is understandable," said Kakashi darkly. "Tell me one thing. If you knew that Sasori was right in his research and the evidence of the spice being a positive force was so overwhelming, why didn't the council agree to cooperate?"

It was one hard question that Sunagakure was unwilling to answer. It was Kankuro who replied.

"I think… None of us saw how big a battle Sasori was waging inside. And how little could it take for the final push to take him out of the village. If only…" Kankuro clenched his fist, casting his gaze downwards and Temari was there to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. So he was that close to his teacher, huh.

"Kazekage-sama. Konoha is willing to cooperate and support you fully. But your council must see reason."

Gaara nodded darkly. "What has been discussed here today may not leave those walls." Everyone nodded. The spice had a great potential, but it also possessed potentially disastrous consequences that could blow into a full scale war, if mishandled. "Sunagakure will call an emergency Council meeting where we will discuss further proceedings with the spice and ramifications in the event of it getting into wrong hands."

_Ah, that brings in another important topic._

"I'm sure you have heard about a group of rouge nins that are becoming more visible in their actions," said Kakashi. "They call themselves Akatsuki. It would be the worst case scenario if they would come into possession of spice."

"I've heard one of the Leaf shinobi is running with them," interjected Temari.

"Yeah. They're an international problem." Kakashi crossed his hands in front of him. His heart went out for Rei. Heavens knew where was she right now. From what Kankuro reported them, she was most probably still with Sasori. He tried to understand the reasoning behind her choice, but even knowing the kunoichi well, Kakashi had trouble picturing her just happily joining Sasori. Something must have happened. He only hoped it was, ultimately, for Rei's benefit. All of this.

"How much does Rei know about spice?" asked Gaara.

"I'm supposing not much. Suna has with great success erased any knowledge about the spice," Kakashi raised his grey eyebrow.

"Sasori is rather the secretive type. I'm betting he would try to keep her in the dark," Temari spoke, pensive look on her face.

"They are in the deep desert," Kankuro had shed the pained look from his face, but now determined worry crept in. "Anything is possible, really. She's a capable kunoichi, but here it would be actually best if she stayed close to Sasori." He spoke it without much faith in the tone of his voice.

"I'm aware of Sunagakure possessing strict law enforcement policy," Kakashi looked over to Kankuro and then Gaara. "But the fact that you wanted to close Rei in a cell before carrying out any investigation directly contributed to her being in the deep desert right now."

To Kankuro's credit, he cast his eyes down and Baki shifted his feet uncomfortably under him. Kakashi understood Village Laws and how often they stood as the imperative. But Suna and Konoha had formed a strong alliance and Rei had particularly played an important role in fostering this alliance throughout recent years and her many diplomatic pilgrimages. This is not how things are done between allies. The copy nin understood that the entire situation was particularly problematic for Suna and they had to protect their own interest first, but it didn't change the fact that his friend got tangled in their mess.

The fact remained, however, that Rei flew and her actions spoke against her. Her name had to go to the bingo book, there was no way around this.

Gaara ran tiredly his hands over his face.

"Kakashi, I realise this." The Kazekage put his hands before him, looking him straight in the eye. "But there were many witnesses. If it was staged… Still, representatives from every shinobi village have heard that Rei betrayed the alliance. If we pardon her, or our own shinobi, in this very moment, they will want justice. It turned out the murdered student was a nephew of the Raikage's sister, so Cloud is unwilling to just forget that it happened."

"Do you think Sasori will try to turn against Suna?" asked the copy nin.

"Not impossible," Gaara replied darkly.

"Do you suspect him of having any ties with Akatsuki?" pressed Kakashi.

At this question, everyone fell silent. Only wind wailed through the wooden window shutters.

"He has been in possession of Suna's most dangerous secret for over twenty years. Everything he has done as the chief captain was to our advantage," Gaara spoke in a low voice. "But when I'm trying to imagine what is he thinking right now or what would he likely do… We must be ready for anything."

"It might be necessary to track Sasori down," said Temari. "He is a ticking bomb. It's best to apprehend him while no damage has been done yet."

All eyes turned to Kankuro. The sand shinobi squirmed under their gaze, but held his ground. It was Gaara who spoke. "Kankuro." The darkness in the Kazekake's voice was palpable, like tendrils going out for his brother. "You had the sealing scroll. You could have caught him with zero trouble."

"What? He had the sealing scroll?" Temari spoke stunned as her head whipped violently towards Kankuro. "Why the heck didn't you use it?! It would solve at least half of our troubles!"

The shinobi in question spoke almost defeated. "I… I couldn't betray him like that."

"It's not a matter of betrayal!" Temari's chest was heaving with supressed rage and she walked in front of Kankuro, as if ready to beat the reason into him with her own fists. "It was not your personal squabble, but something of a potentially all-out shinobi war scale consequences! You wasted a perfect opportunity to stop this madness in its tracks!"

"… I know."

If Kakashi didn't suspect this earlier, now it was obvious that Kankuro was clearly smitten with his teacher. The copy nin reminded himself of the old rule that strong feelings clouded the picture, but it were those strong feelings that could make a difference in a hopeless situation.

When Gaara spoke again, he sounded much, much older than his youthful face gave him credit for. "It's no use blaming each other now. We need to act quickly. And secretly." The Kazekage looked with a sombre gaze to Kakashi. "We need to find Sasori."

On this, everyone was in agreement.

Not much later, Kakashi left the Kazekage's office, and with a heavy heart, after the Villages agreed to keep each other in touch regarding the details of the plan.

The situation could potentially turn out as a stellar opportunity for Suna, because nothing had the power of convincing council members to change their minds about spice like a tangible threat that it could be taken away from them, used against them and who knew if not even weaponised. What Sasori's acts were trying to fruitlessly accomplish, his absence did with a speed of lightning.

He could not waste any time now. He would gather Konoha's genin students and run back home right away. Hokage needed to be informed immediately about recent developments. And somehow, throughout, across and in spite of this bizarre mess, they needed to find a way to put Rei in the clear.

-[-]-

Rei's sense of hearing returned suddenly and unexpectedly. Someone cranked up the volume and she heard a soft rush of the distant wind, and realised she was awake – and alive. With eyes still closed, she pushed through the many veils of dreams and was beginning to remember. The exam. Murder. Run. The desert and the heat. Scorpion bite.

Sasori.

Her heartrate quickened and in the cavernous ambiance she heard a shuffle, rustle and approaching steps. Someone sat by her. She was lying on the ground, she now realised, the stone floor imbedding painfully into the muscles and protruding bones on her back.

"How are you feeling?" Sasori's low voice was carried with a hollow reverb between the stone walls.

Rei risked cracking her eyes open and was greeted by a muted glow of the candles illuminating a mostly dark cave of a fairly regular shape, with a natural rock chimney in the middle of the ceiling. A gentle draft seemed to be coming from this opening straight to where she lay. To her left Sasori sat cross legged, clad in a black long-sleeved top and black slacks, face concentrated, examining the scorpion bite on her upper left arm. Her shirt there was pushed down, to expose the wound and let it breathe. When bent over her like this, Sasori's red hair seemed even more unruly. And his lashes even longer. As she was looking at him, he shifted his brown-golden eyes onto hers, expecting her answer.

"I'm… I'm fine," she said truthfully, perplexed. Nothing was ailing her. Her body felt rested and not counting the dents in her back the stone floor had made, she felt no pain. She chanced a look at her shoulder and saw the wound was all but gone, no swelling, with minimal redness present. The only thing out of place was Sasori himself inquiring her about her health. The last she remembered of him, he seemed all too happy to be rid of her. To ask how she felt was a raging contradiction. Had the venom messed with her head? Or maybe she had woken up in some alternative universe. The thought raised a mild alarm and made her sober up. She suddenly felt very exposed and fragile just lying there, defenceless.

Sasori reached around him for a water sack and offered it to her. As quickly as she could without causing a dizziness, Rei sat up to a position allowing her any space and although dumbstruck with the gesture from him, accepted the sack gladly, downing the contents. Her throat felt as if no water touched it for a year and each greedy gulp was bringing her back the strength.

Shit! Realisation came with a cough. Don't accept beverages from enemies, shinobi rule number ninety-seven. Rei coughed and spluttered, berating herself for her lack of vigilance and threw the sack back to Sasori, looking to him with wide, watered eyes. She fixed her bangs behind her ears to see him better.

"Calm yourself." At least his low, bored voice sounded the same. "It's not poisoned. If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead already."

Wasn't she supposed to be dead, by the way? She vaguely remembered that this scorpion's bite came with a deathly countdown clock.

And weren't they supposed to part ways?

"Do you feel any numbness?" Sasori inquired, his eyes roaming around her face and her limbs. Rei might have been imagining things, but something about his face was different. She shook her head, still not entirely trusting in what her senses were reporting her. She moved her feet experimentally once more and was still surprised to feel no pain there either, as if she'd never twisted her ankle. Yet there was a strange tingling present, reminding her that the injury indeed occurred.

Her mind went then into overdrive. Her memory of the event was blurry, but she clearly remembered that the bone in her ankle was fractured. It was impossible to be healed this quickly. Did he use a medical jutsu on her? "How long was I out?"

"Two days."

"Did you heal me? What happened?"

"I gave you medicine."

"What medicine?" It wasn't even her blurry, patched memory. The most confusing thing was how Sasori was behaving towards her. He really didn't want to have her around. This, Rei felt clear as day. What happened that he first, saved her life for the second, or even third time and then apparently took care of her while she was recovering? It was insane. No logical explanations made a sudden revelation in her mind.

This must have been a trap. She scrambled to her knees, but was still so weak that she promptly fell to her butt.

Sasori just watched her. "I've administered the antitoxin."

"Fine. But what about the ankle? Did you use a medical jutsu? No, not fine." Rei raised a hand, after her memory supplied her with a flash image of Sasori giving her a diastolic shot. "You didn't have the antitoxin with you." She looked at him, gaze hard.

"I didn't. I had to take you here," Sasori supplied, his eyes never leaving hers. She was starting to feel mildly uncomfortable under this penetrating gaze. And hearing this many _willingly supplied_ words from him at once.

"Why not leave me there?" She pressed. "You wanted to get rid of me anyway. The venom would finish me before the crack of dawn."

The corner of Sasori's mouth rose in an almost-smile, but he said nothing.

That was it. He was a creep. Rei would have none of this. She made a move to rise up again and get away from him by any means necessary, but something alarming happened then.

Her entire body as if wobbled from the inside and she staggered to the ground, her open palms breaking her fall. She supported herself on her shaking hands, catching shaky intakes of breath and blinking furiously to clear the stars from under her eyelids. Aftershock of the venom? As an aspiring medic she had witnessed many cases, but she'd never seen or heard of such sensations following a toxic bite. Cardiac and respiratory arrest? Yes. Nausea and vomiting? Quite often. Compromised neurological paths causing dizziness? Oh yes. But never such a bizarre feeling of the core of your body shaking. Rei had trouble even identifying the sensation for what it really could be.

"What have you given me?" she rasped, terrified, when the sensations subdued. What did he do to her when she was knocked out?

Sasori looked at her in silence for a few moments, his face untouched by any emotion like that of an ancient, handsome statue.

"I gave you the spice," he finally said.

The fine hair rose on Rei's arms.

"Spice…?"

She sat straight and racked her memory for something, anything that would help her remember any information on this spice.

And then she had it. Something she had heard many, many years ago as a kid when she still lived in the Land of Lightning. Something coming with a 'forbidden' label.

But that was impossible…

"Impossible…" her croaky voice echoed her thoughts as she supporter herself on the stone floor one more time. "It's a banned drug. Does it even exist for real?" She leaned closer to him. "You fed me a drug?!"

"I won't repeat myself."

"Well, what will happen to me now?" Rei felt her throat was beginning to constrict to match the sudden rise of panic inside her. He'd given her a dangerous substance of unknown properties. Her mind's eye already saw how easily she could sprout a sixth finger or a third breast. She snorted, but that broken half-laughter was threatening to turn into tears.

"Would you rather die?" Sasori hadn't moved, he just kept watching her go through the array of emotions.

Rei tried to find a relevant word, but was failing miserably at this. "How do you even…?" Her chest heaved with hasty breaths. "How do you have this spice?"

Instead of answering, Sasori rose in one fluid motion to his feet. He appraised her for one moment and then offered Rei his hand.

Swallowing hard, she accepted it, grabbing him by the wrist in a sailor's grasp, and while slowly rising to her feet with the help of his pull, another strange thing happened. When she stood on her legs, it suddenly felt as if she was floating lightly in a room devoid of gravity. This was coupled with a hollow kind of flutter of her heart chambers and visual hallucinations of blue splashes.

It was over as soon as it started, but immediately afterwards, Rei's heart started racing. She looked up to Sasori, and saw that she was still holding his hand, so she promptly let him go. Gravity returned, pulling her weakened body down.

"Is this normal?" she asked, grasping the wall for stabilisation, worry gnawing on her insides.

"What is?" he asked stoically, as if nothing had just happened.

"This… dizziness, and colours flying in front of my eyes."

Sasori said nothing, sweeping her with his eyes from head to toe and then just went to the other chamber. So she didn't land in an alternative universe and Sasori being a master conversationalist didn't change. The world and all the laws still kept their balance.

Rei followed him into this another chamber, steps careful and still keeping close to the wall, in case another wave of sensations hit her.

What greeted her was a cavernous space fully stocked to withstand at least a month with no outside supplies. There were satchels of dried food stacked by the walls to her left, soldier pills and apparently even medicinal tonics. Even the water was here, supplied through a tiny, trickling stream jutting from the wall near the ground level that pooled into a small pond and then disappeared under the ground.

Sasori also fitted this space with a fully-stocked workbench. Chainsaws of various sizes and shapes, chisels, squares and levels sat on a makeshift, yet sturdy-looking desk, puppet parts were piled in the crates on the ground and in the middle, there was a design in the making – a part looking like a hand, or a lever, was split in half by its length, its rim held by a clamp.

And to the right must have been a field laboratory. Lab burner with tongs propped on its meal stand, graduated cylinder, flasks and beakers, test tube filled with a milky substance, mounted on an iron ring stand, mortar, evaporating dish with some kind of grey rock crumbled inside. And a journal.

The aroma of cinnamon was overwhelming, yet not unpleasant.

"Whoa, nice hideout," whispered Rei. They were full-blown fugitives. A handy hideout was a commendable advantage, of course.

Sasori took a scroll from the shelf and gestured to a small boulder on the ground. "Sit."

His tone would accept no refusal, so Rei did his bidding and Sasori sat as well, opposite her.

And told her that Suna had (apparently) a top secret task force that worked to keep the spice secret hidden, at all costs. And that (behold) he, Sasori, was the chief captain of this task force. And that his another hobby (next to constructing deadly puppets) was to research this spice.

It was simply unreal. Yet here they sat, Sasori all flesh and bone, opening a corked flask of sparking, blue sandy substance.

Spice.

Rei took in the view of this exquisite substance and delicately grabbed the flask, taking it from Sasori's hands to inhale the contents. The sweetest cinnamon aroma filled her lungs and she knew she could be inhaling this without end. A banned drug, huh. No wonder. Their eyes met over the flask and Sasori looked at her with this deep, dangerous gaze. A man holding in the palm of his hand the greatest and sweetest secret.

She only hoped he wouldn't get a monkey mind from all this secret and power.

And that he didn't have too many ulterior motives that prompted him to share with her so many secrets of his desert den.

"Describe the sensation you have just experienced," he said, his eyes on her and a pen in hand.

So he was interested in this for real. Rei therefore tried to earnestly capture the sensations she had since the moment she awoke and Sasori was diligently writing them down. So much unlike from that night by the stream when he told her to basically shut up. _Still dangerous_.

Then, without any warning, Sasori grabbed her wrist and the moment his hand touched her skin, Rei felt something again.

She couldn't describe it with any other words than _being invaded_ by something. Being invaded by a sudden surge of emotions. She was so engrossed in this feeling that only after a while realised Sasori was performing some witchcraft on her. _Goblin's piss. _

"What are you doing?"

"Taking your temperature, blood pressure and heart rate." Sasori wrote down the numbers for what must be her blood pressure in the scroll and then took her hand in his one more time, his other hand forming a seal.

She suspected he wasn't doing this out of worry for her vitals, but rather from scientific curiosity. But if it kept her health monitored, then let him do it.

So... Her heart was beating thanks to this uncanny, mysterious substance that until mere moments ago she was considering as a legend. How did Suna get away with such a secret was beyond imagining. How did a handful of humans live with the conscience burdened by keeping this extreme secret? It must have taken extremely resilient spirit to withstand such constant pressure. Coal into diamonds. And why did Suna want to keep spice a secret, again? It saved her life. The healing process that took place was nothing short of a miracle – even her ankle got a fix in the process. To keep this a secret – it was stupid. Rei then chanced she saw a glimpse of the reason why Sasori would want to leave his village.

One could only try so much for others to understand until he gave up.

Actually, if one needed to be meticulous about this, Rei's heart was beating thanks to Sasori. He had no obligation to help her and go to such lengths as bringing her here.

"Everything is normal," he said rolling the scroll back.

The sensations in her ceased, too.

Rei nodded. And took a big breath.

"Thank you… for saving my life."

Predictably, he said nothing. But she did have something to say to him. As grateful as she was, she knew when something too dangerous for her own good stared into her face.

"Listen, Sasori." Rei caught his arm as he made a move to stand up. He humoured her and turned his gaze to her. "I'm really grateful for you saving my life and all, but I want to sort this mess out. I'll be going back to Suna."

The look he gave her bordered on 'don't think for one second I'll believe your ludicrous stories' and 'let's hear your excuses; I'll weaponise them later'.

Rei did want to go back to Suna, though. Truly. She had no interest in selling Sasori's secrets. She only wanted to solve her problem and straighten her life out before all of this spiralled into a disaster. And the Puppet Master seemed to be a chaos attractor with a generous splash of brilliant scheming. Not a good combination to be close to.

"Right now it's best for you to stay close to me," the Puppet Master spoke after a pause. "Spice worked. Wonderful. But no one ever has recorded such a case and I have no idea what the side effects of this might be."

Damn. He had a point here.

"From my observations, the incubation period of any side effects regarding spice is usually a few days," he continued slowly, deliberately. "Travel with me until we reach mainland River, and then you can go wherever you want."

So gracious of him. But Rei had to agree with him, begrudgingly. She felt like a ticking bomb right now and having close someone who studied this spice for fifteen years might be just beneficial, if something weird would happen to her. Well, Sasori looked pretty normal to her and she supposed he had to sample some of the blue sand as well. He actually looked extremely healthy and strong.

"What could be those side effects?" she inquired. "There must be some accumulated, lasting effects, too. You look pretty well for someone who has been dealing with spice for such a long time."

"The dizziness you have experienced, for example," spoke Sasori, looking into the candle's flame. Then he turned his gaze to her. "There was one case of someone who had their chakra pathways fried after they ingested too much spice at once. Their system could not handle the shock."

Ice flowed in Rei's veins.

"How much spice did you give me?" she asked, feeling her legs turning into a jelly.

There was this look on his face again. But when Sasori spoke, it was with level, almost gentle voice.

"I gave you raw spice. No one did this before. The effects might be unpredictable."

Rei inhaled deeply.

A ticking bomb was saying it mildly. Because if her system rejected this spice and she would lose the ability to use chakra, a bomb would be a milder fate.

"Not even you?"

"No."

She mulled this in her head for a while.

"So… It seems this spice has adverse effects when ingested in exceeding quantities?"

"Yes." He never once looked away from her.

"And one learns rather quickly if something negative is bound to happen?"

"Yes."

"And apart from that, it has the power to heal a deadly wound? And I'm guessing much more?"

Sasori didn't say anything.

"This spice is quite awesome, then."

Maybe it was a trick of light. Maybe it were those hair of his, framing his coldly sculpted face. But for this one moment, he looked to her as if possessing at least one human bone in his body. An ounce of humanity. A spark of warmth amidst the sea of arrogance.

Maybe this warmth was speaking too much. But when Sasori finally stood up and told her they would be departing with the sunrise, leaving to do something in this hideout, Rei felt the burdens on her chest lessen, contradictory to what her mind was telling her. One mystery solved. One secret uncovered. She had something to work with. And definitely much to think of.

The balance of power had shifted. She was no longer fiercely unwelcome in Sasori's kingdom.

Maybe… After all, maybe it was even better. The pull to return home at once was strong, but right now she had stumbled upon something unprecedented. And she had a chance to learn more of this. Knowledge that only a handful of people in the world were privileged to know. It had to count for something. She would have to walk like on eggshells and count her shadows all the time to not mess this up more, but if she could walk out from this unscathed… It seemed like a just this tiny bit of a fitting reward for all the troubles involved up until now.

Only if her chakra would remain intact throughout this ordeal.

Her mind reeled, but at least was adamant in stressing one thing. Do your adventure, Rei, survive, fine, but be extremely careful around this man. One wrong step and you're dead. Literally or figuratively.

But it's not like the fire trees would be gone from the Fire Country if she didn't return next month. They would be still there no matter how long the return to freedom might take her. And Kakashi was one smart ass ninja, it's not like he would get himself dumbly killed on a mission during her absence. And the Hokage was one hell of a kunoichi, too. She would be there when Rei returned.

Everything would work out, somehow, no matter what. That was the promise and the prayer on her lips when Rei put her head down on a stone bed, the cold seeping straight into her heart.

-[-]-

"Sasori of Red Sand has declined our offer again," said the blue haired woman as she'd entered an elegant office and approached a massive wooden desk. A man with spiky orange hair was perusing a large scroll stretched in front of him.

"Don't worry, Konan. He will come," he said, not lifting his gaze from the scroll.

"Maybe. But is there still place for him, Pein? No one declines and lives." There was a clear disapproval in the woman's voice.

"Sasori is worth the wait. Now that he is finally out of options, there is only one place he can go." Pein rolled the scroll and looked up to Konan. "I have what he wants."

She said nothing to this, unmoving and poised.

"I have sent someone to greet him." Pein smiled.


End file.
